Stone is Unbreakable
by JeckTheParadox
Summary: In a world where Jolyne is born with the powers of Stone Free, Jotaro is forced to take responsibility and raise her to use her powers right. When he is called to Morioh, he brings her along. How much more bizarre can this adventure get, with a six-year-old Jolyne joining in the insanity. (Cover art by aruchibarudo on tumblr)
1. Prologue

California - 1995

"Oh god!" She screamed, backing away from the sudden holes appearing along the wall. "Jotaro! Jotaro!"

Her husband was there in an instant, and she flinched at his sudden appearance. He had stopped time again. Even more bizarre abilities that she didn't hope to understand. "What's wrong?" He asked, searching the room. Within a second his eyes came upon the smashed-in plaster. "When did it happen?" He asked harshly, his voice becoming colder than usual. "What else did it do, Dolly?"

"N-Nothing." She said, unnerved and panicking a little. "Nothing else. Jolyne-" her breath caught as her baby, only two years old, rose into the air from her little bed, held by invisible arms. "Jotaro," she said, her voice wavering, "please... just hold her with your hands." Jotaro said nothing, but Jolyne moved through the air, and was deposited in Jotaro's arms.

He stepped closer to his wife, and began to hold out Jolyne for her to take, "Now, Dolly, I need you to take Jolyne and go somewhere safe. I'll be just behind you. If there's an Enemy Stand in here then-"

"It's Jolyne."

"Eh?"

"The holes..." tears began running down his wife's face. "Jolyne was crying, and fussing, and I was hushing her, but she got mad, and those holes started appearing. Jolyne is the Stand User."

Jotaro looked down at his daughter, who still had tears on her face from crying earlier, but seemed much happier now, in her father's arms. He didn't hold her often, and so Jolyne thought it was a treat.

"Huh." He said, after considering it for a few moments. He began reaching out again, but stopped when his wife took a step back. "What's wrong?" He asked. "I mean, it's a little unexpected, but Stands are passed down along blood-"

"Jotaro... she... is it safe for me to hold her?"

"Why wouldn't it be?"

"She can break through the wall from three feet away. What if she gets scared or upset, and has a tantrum that takes my head off?"

"...Dolly." Jotaro said, his voice getting a little softer. "You don't have to worry about that. If she does anything, I can handle it-"

"I know." She said. "I know, Jotaro. But I can't. Just... until we know it's safe, can you just hold her?"

Jotaro considered it, looking back down to his daughter. "Yare yare..." he mumbled under his breath. He looked back up to his wife and answered with a simple "Yeah."

* * *

"So she's got a Stand?" Polnareff's voice from the phone was always comforting and welcoming. And it wasn't like he had anyone else to turn to when discussing these types of things.

"Yeah." Jotaro answered simply. "She only used it the one time though. Dolly has had me staying with the brat 24/7 since. It's beginning to get in the way of my work."

"Have you seen what it looks like?"

"No."

"Hm. Well, I'm not sure what to say, Jotaro. Jolyne is young. From personal experience, I can tell you that a Stand is drastically weaker when being used by a child."

"Alessi?"

"Oui. You can tell your mademoiselle that Jolyne is practically harmless. It shouldn't be a problem, after all, you're there to help teach her. It's not like having a Stand is a bad thing, no?"

"Kakyoin was born with Green..."

"See!"

"And he was an antisocial manipulator with no friends until we got a hold of him."

"Well... you'll be there to make sure that doesn't happen, right Jotaro? Do not worry. Everything will turn out okay."

* * *

California - 1997

"I want a divorce."

Dolly sighed, covering her face with her hands. "Jotaro... please, we need to stay together! For Jolyne, for us."

Jotaro's face was hard and stoic. "We both know that us never went anywhere."

"Oh Jotaro."

"Dolly, we were never in love. It happened too quickly. We both rushed things unnecessarily, and I don't think I'm the kind of person who's capable of settling down."

"I..." she sat down and looked at her own hands for a few seconds, before looking back up to Jotaro. "I always thought that you had some kind of hidden softness. A warm core that would allow you to be kind and tender and thoughtful, but that you had just buried it. I thought that I could crack your coldness, that silent, stoic, tough man that I swooned for. I thought I could change you. But I was wrong. Jotaro, I know you well enough to know you are a good person. I know that... but you're not a tender one. You're not a loving one or a kind one. I just..."

Jotaro nodded in affirmation, still silent. "It's not you." He said, trying to be comforting, "I'm just don't think I'm meant to be married."

Dolly's mind churned for a few minutes, leaving the two of them in uncomfortable silence, until she nodded as well. "I know."

Jotaro looked down at the floor, "...What do you want to tell Jolyne?"

"I'm not sure." She met his eyes hesitantly "maybe we should wait... until she's older, until she's had the chance to grow up."

"With two people who can barely stand each other?" Jotaro asked bluntly.

Dolly blushed, becoming suddenly angry. "You can't stand me?"

"It's just... yare yare daze... wouldn't it be better for her if we were just honest. Rather than faking it for her?"

She frowned, but agreed, "Fine."

"How should I say goodbye to her?"

"You won't be saying goodbye. I will."

"What?" Jotaro asked, honestly surprised.

"You're the one with the Stand. I can't teach Jolyne that. I can't stop her. What if it's something beyond just punching things that are too far away for her to reach normally? What if it gets dangerous and weird like those people you fought? I won't be able to handle that Jotaro. It wouldn't be safe. Not for me or Jolyne."

"I can't raise a kid." Jotaro said, beginning to get scared.

"You're a father! Accept it."

* * *

New York - 1999

Suzie lifted up Jolyne, laughing with the five year old as the child's waist unraveled so that her feet would stay on the ground. Lowering her again, Jolyne reformed, giggling. Suzie Q's acceptance of the bizarre had extended to her great-granchild's bizarre body as well. Jotaro and Joseph watched, amused from the other side of the room. Joseph's age was finally catching up to him since their vampire hunt eleven years ago ended.

"I really should have kept up my Ripple training." He said mournfully to his grandson.

Jotaro didn't say anything, content with watching Jolyne play with his grandmother.

"...Jotaro." Joseph began. "Now, I'm sure I have another thirty years in me, probably."

Jotaro smirked a little. "If we're all so unfortunate."

"Asshole." Joseph said, chuckling. "But... well, I had a look at the process of declaring my will. And since you're heading to Morioh in Japan anyway..."

Jotaro raised a single eyebrow, wondering where this was going.

"Well, on the list of my descendants... there was a name I didn't recognize. Uh... Jotaro, I have something to confess. But, please, for all that's holy, don't tell Suzie."

"Shit." Jotaro said quietly. "'I only love my wife', eh, bastard?"

"Shh! Listen, when you go to Morioh looking for this Angelo guy... look up the name Higishikata."

"If you don't tell Grandma Suzie by the time we're back, I'm telling her myself."

"...Don't worry." Joseph said, looking guilty. The thought of confessing his infidelity sixteen years past seemingly making the man age even faster from the stress alone.

Jotaro decided he didn't pity him for that much. Let him feel guilty. "Come on Jolyne!" Jotaro ordered. "Say goodbye to the geezers. We're heading for Japan."

* * *

Notes:

I've given the name "Dolly (maiden named Parten) Kujo" to Jotaro's wife and Jolyne's mother. She's named after the singer of the song "Jolene" which Kujo Jolyne is named after.


	2. Stone Free

"Now, I'm going to busy for a while, so I want you to stay here. Don't make trouble, don't break anything." He ordered. Jolyne nodded, very serious. "If you're hungry, call this number" he held up a yellow sticky note with the room service number written in black ink "and order something from this menu" he then held up the hotel's menu. "Don't be too loud, but you can watch TV for as long as you want."

"As long as I want?!" She asked, excited.

"Yes. As long as no one comes to complain." He turned away from her and went over to his suit case. Fishing out the pictures Hermit Purple made of the serial killer, he stuffed them in his jacket, as well as taking his notebook. "You understand?"

"Yes daddy!" She said.

"If you need anything else, call my cell number."

"Yes!" With that, he marched out of the room, locking the hotel door behind him.

Rushing over to the bed, she fumbled with the remote and turned on the TV. Stone Free lifted her up and tucked her into the massive bed, and then disappeared. Flicking through the channels, she settled on an ocean documentary. When her dad was willing to watch TV with her, he always settled on documentaries like this. She frowned that it was in Japanese. But she supposed there was no helping it. She spoke both English and Japanese, but her first language, and the one she understood more of, was English.

She watched it all the same, and when it was over continued her channel surfing.

Around noon she proudly ordered lunch for herself and was surprised when her dad returned to the hotel soon after and ordered some food for himself as well.

"How was your day?"

"I talked to Gramp's bastard." He frowned. "He was an okay guy. His Stand is really something."

"He has a Stand?" Jolyne said, her interest jumping up tenfold. The only other Stand Users she ever met were her father, Joseph, and Polnareff. "What is it like?"

"It's as strong as Star Platinum, power-wise." Jolyne was suitably impressed. She had heard her great grandfather and her dad discuss Stands before, and Star was the strongest he knew. "And it has the power to heal, or repair, things."

"That's cool! When am I going to meet him?"

"Huh?"

"He's your uncle, right?"

"Well... why do you want to meet him?"

"I want to see his Stand!"

"It's not that big a deal." Jotaro said simply. "But I guess it shouldn't matter. We're stuck here until we get the Angelo crap squared away."

Jolyne smiled, glad that she'll finally get to meet another Stand User.

The two ate lunch, when the hotel's phone started ringing. Picking it up, her father moved into the bathroom.

Jolyne got up and went over to the door. Grabbing her ear, she pulled on it, it turned to string in her fingers, which she unfurled from her head. Slipping it silently under the door, she backed off and partially-reformed her ear to listen in on the conversation.

"...Was Angelo anywhere near you at the time?"

"...The man in the picture."

"...Okay, listen to me, strength-wise, his Stand is really weak, but he can control it at a distance to take over other people's bodies. I'm coming to your house now. Until I'm there don't eat or drink anything, and don't even go near the bathroom..."

After that, Jotaro listened silently for a few seconds. The silence quickly became uncomfortable "Hey! Josuke! Is something wrong?"

Jolyne was getting scared now. She knew her daddy beat dozens of bad guys with Stands before, but she didn't know anything about her uncle. He could be in trouble. Pulling back her ear, she opened the bathroom door. "Not now Jolyne." Jotaro said harshly, making to close the door again.

"We need to save Josuke!" She said. "He's in trouble!"

"What did I say about eavesdropping?" Jotaro growled, but he waved it off. "You're right. Listen, stay here, stay quiet. Don't make trouble. Don't call me unless its an emergency. I'm heading over there."

He was about to drop the phone when the voice of a young man on the other side answered "Hey Jotaro, I caught the Stand in a bottle. What should I do with it?"

Jotaro rushed back to the phone, "Be on guard. The user must be nearby, watching your every move. Don't underestimate the Stand, even if you have it trapped. It can transform into any liquid like milk or coffee, so I doubt we can destroy it by physical means. I'm heading over now. Keep careful watch on it."

Hanging up the phone he pulled on his jacket. "I need to take care of this... on second thought, don't use the bathroom, don't let anyone inside you don't already know. If you need to eat something, make sure it comes from an unopened bag or can. Got it?"

"Got it!" She said definitively. "But let me come with you!"

"What? No."

"I want to help beat the bad guys."

Jotaro narrowed his eyes, staring her down. "You are staying here." He said, allowing no argument. "This bastard is dangerous, and you're six. So don't be stupid." Slamming the door and locking it, he began rushing to get to Josuke's house.

"...That's not fair!" She shouted. "How am I ever going to learn to fight if you don't ever let me!" Pouting, she went back up to the bed and turned the TV back on, determined to not watch anything about sea animals.

She became progressively more upset and worried as time passed. She wouldn't sneak out and help her dad, as she knew he was right. She'd just get in the way, if she showed up as a surprise, and her dad would get really, really mad at her.

By the time her dad came back she was about ready to bawl and ask him to forgive her for yelling at him, but he dismissed her fears immediately. He bent down, and gathered her into his arms, his face looking less grim and determined, like when he left, and more worried. "Daddy?" She asked. "Did something bad happen?"

"Josuke's grandfather..."

She bit her lip, trying to remember the name. "George Joestar?"

"No, on his mother's side..." Jotaro set her back down, to her disappointment, but sat next to her on the bed. "He was killed today."

"Oh no!" She frowned. "Is Josuke going to be alright?"

"Probably. Joestar's are tough. But he's going to be absolutely furious until we find that Enemy Stand User that did it."

"You didn't get him?" She was shocked. Daddy was invincible, in her mind. Anyone who could stop time would be! How could her dad conceivably lose?

"No. He got away. But from now on I'm going to be busy looking for him." He met his daughter's eyes. "And it'll be dangerous. I could die. So..."

"I want to stay here." She said, cutting him off. "I want to help."

"Jolyne you're six."

"And I'm invincible!" She said proudly.

"No, you're not." He said quietly. "I think it would be best if I sent you to live with my mom for a while, until I get this taken care of."

"I want to stay here! I can help you." She said, grabbing onto his arm. "And you can't make me go!"

He narrowed his eyes, "Jolyne. What does that mean?"

"If you send me to Grandma's I'll just come here!"

"What if I send you to Great-Grandpa?" Jotaro threatened. "You can't swim across the ocean."

"I'll tie myself to a dolphin and ride back!"

He cracked a small smile at the image of his daughter being dragged across the sea by a dolphin. "i don't want you getting hurt."

"I won't get hurt, Daddy. Besides, when will I learn to fight enemy Stands if not now?"

He considered it.

"You really won't go if I ask you to?"

"No." She said, putting her foot down.

He grabbed her, and she simply turned herself to string, flowing out of his fingers. Summoning Star Platinum, he grabbed her and held her in the air. In response she extended a loop of string over to the ceiling fan, pulling herself out of Jotaro's range. Sighing, he let her go and watched as she was flung to the floor opposite him. "What a bother..." He crossed his arms and looked down at her. "Fine. I won't make you go. But your power won't be useful in fighting this guy."

"How do you know?"

"His Stand isn't a power-type. It's liquid and can't be harmed physically. It transforms into various liquids, and if you drink it, on purpose or on accident, it can control your body. Even kill you from the inside."

"..." Closing her eyes, she began to unwind her insides. The still-disturbing sight of holes appearing in his daughter, and hollow, dry, empty spaces within her, met his eyes. She proudly showed her father her handiwork, a bag made of tightly-woven threads suspended in the middle of her empty chest.

"No, Jolyne I am not making you drink the enemy stand. That is risky as hell. How do we even know that world work?" Jolyen simply grabbed a nearby cup of juice, and was about to down it, when Jotaro grabbed it out of her hand. "What did I say earlier? Only eat things that were sealed and pre-packaged! He could have been in there."

"Fine." She said, pouting a little, and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. Drinking a few gulps, Jotaro watched the sack. Seeing nothing leaking out, his face became grim.

"Well?" Jolyne asked, looking proud of herself.

"...No. No way."

"Aw! It would work! I can trap him."

"And then how would we beat him after that? Would you really want to have a serial killer's stand trapped in your body?"

"...I guess not."

Jotaro nodded, and began walking around the room, throwing away any opened containers of liquid, but not before giving them a shake with Star Platinum. "Tell you what. If I think you could help safely, I'll tell you. Alright? But if you'll just get in the way, there's no point."

"Alright Dad."


	3. Crazy Diamond

Jolyne didn't know the man that everyone was talking about, but she felt sad all the same.

Higishikata Ryohei had been a police man. Someone who caught bad guys like her dad.

When Jotaro had told her they were going to the graveyard, she was expecting a grave yard like those in California or Italy. Large rolling hills, dotted with little towers with crosses on them or simply crosses themselves. But the graveyard in Morioh, and learning when she asked, most of Japan, was a small, cramped one. There were gravestones, many with flowers or candles, but they were all close together. She noticed the urn, and her father whispered to her that inside they kept the ashes of Josuke's grandfather.

"Did he die in a fire?" She asked quietly. She had thought the enemy Stand used water.

"No, they just burn people's bodies when they die here."

"Why?"

"...It's just what they do." Jotaro said. "I never paid attention much to the reasons. I've only been to a… few funerals. And they weren't…" Her father became quiet for a while, looking at the grave.

"Daddy?"

"…they weren't Japanese. The funerals I saw before."

"Oh."

* * *

 _One day after the funeral_

"So, who's the girl?" Josuke asked, looking down at her.

"My daughter."

"You have a kid?!"

"I'm Kujo Jolyne!" She said proudly.

"Higishikata Josuke" he said, caught off-guard. "But seriously, someone like you, with a little girl?"

"Is there something wrong with that?"

"No, no... it's just. Someone with your face doesn't strike me as the 'father' type, y'know?" Jotaro shrugged, and began walking away from town.

"Where are we headed?"

"I need to find a private spot. Josuke, there's something I'd like you to do."

"Anything." the teen said, determined.

The two followed Jotaro's lead as he took them farther and farther out of town, into an area that was sparse with cars and houses.

"Hm. This will do." Jotaro said finally, and turned towards Josuke and Jolyne.

"For what?" Josuke asked, before jumping wildly to the side, dodging a sudden strike from Stone Free. "What the hell was that?"

Jolyne put her hands on her hips, and behind her Stone Free did the same, the glowing blue Stand fully formed and wound. "Show me your Stand!" She declared.

"Wait, is this what was so important? I thought this had to do with that bastard Angelo!" Josuke shouted.

"Jolyne wanted to meet you. She hasn't had the time to meet any other Stand Users." Jotaro shrugged. "I figured it would be fine."

"So what, just bring him out?" Without waiting for a response, Josuke's Stand appeared at his side, copying his pose.

"Cool!" Jolyne said. "This is mine! Stone Free." Bringing out her own Stand, the two looked to Jotaro, who shrugged and summoned Star Platinum.

"What now?"

"I was thinking we should experiment. We'll be fighting Angelo, so we should get used to each other. Being thrown head-first into situations like this have had a tendency to work out for me, but planning ahead and learning how to work together would also be beneficial."

"That... makes sense." Josuke admitted. "So what do we do now? You can't exactly train a Stand can you?"

"...That's a complicated question. A Stand doesn't get 'stronger' or 'weaker' than it already is, but you can practice using it in ways that can make it more effective and powerful. And bad habits or a lack of knowledge of your own abilities can make your Stand less effective or dangerous." Star Platinum suddenly had in its hand the golden heart button that Josuke nearly always wore on his neck.

"Wh- hey!" The teen growled, and his own nameless Stand reached out to take it back, but Jotaro simply stepped away out of range.

"Josuke. Can you get this back, without taking another step?"

"How could I? You got out of my range." Jotaro frowned, and Star Platinum threw the button out into the field, it disappeared into the grass, out of sight. "Hey! What the fuck do you think you're doing?"

"I think you can get it back without moving from that spot." He pointed down to Josuke's legs. "By fixing your uniform."

Josuke blinked. His Stand tapped the collar of his jacket, and from the field, the button sped past, before affixing itself back to the neck of his uniform. "What do you know..."

"I've been trying to figure out your power since we met. You have the power to 'restore' things to their previous shape, and you've used this to heal injuries or repair clothing. But at the same time, when you get angry, you mess up when you 'fix' it. Whatever you affected became warped and bent..." Jotaro shrugged. "So I'm trying to get a handle on what rules your power works by. It's obscenely powerful, but then again, most Stands are, if you keep pushing forward with what you imagine you could do with your power."

"...When I get mad, I'm still 'repairing' the stuff. Just... partially, I think. At it's core, my Stand 'restores' things. When it gets warped, it's because I'm punching it, and repairing whatever I'm taking my anger out on at the same time, so that the shape my punch gave it becomes solid. I permanently repair its shape to the moment it got punched. But when I'm really pissed off, I'm just doing that shit partially, so that I'm only warping one part of what's getting hit at a time, making it turn out all weird, rather than just having a permanent fist-shaped indent."

"Huh..." Jotaro smiled. "I think we might have found a Stand that trumps Star Platinum. You're essentially immortal, aren't you?"

Jolyne gaped, before turning to Josuke, amazed. "You could beat Dad?"

"What? Nah." Josuke pulled up his sleeve, pointing to a number of scratches and old scars. "I can't heal myself with my Stand, only other things."

"How does that work?" Jolyne asked. "You're made of the same stuff as other people."

"The only logic Stands follow is their own. It shows you have a selfless heart." Jotaro said. "Now then, the question is, how far, and how abstract, can this 'repairing' go?"

"Huh." Josuke looked appreciatively at his Stand.

"To start off with, I'd like to test something out." He looked over to Jolyne, and picked her up. "I want you to unfurl as much as you can, and I want to see if Josuke can pull you back together."

"As much as I can?" She asked, hesitant.

"Josuke can heal any injury up to death." Jotaro said, serious. "Go as far as possible."

"Wait, wait, is she going to get hurt OH MY GOD." His Stand's arm rushed forward to repair the holes that appeared suddenly in Jolyne's body, as more and more string was created from her body.

"Hey!" The three watched as the string glowed with the energy of being fixed by Josuke, and returned back to their proper place, fusing directly back into Jolyne rather than winding back into place like it usually did.

"Josuke, that's her Stand power."

"You just fucking said that she's gonna get hurt, and then holes start appearing on her! I knew it was her Stand, but," the teen growled, crossing his arms, "I think I'm justified for panicking a little."

"Jolyne, go ahead and try again. Josuke, wait until Jolyne says she's gone as far as she can."

Giving a little glare at Josuke, she began unwinding again, dispensing string in every direction, holes started dotting her entire body, and soon both arms and legs began to disappear. She was a mostly-empty torso and a half-unwound head before she began panting with effort. "I... I think that's as far as I can go."

"Are you okay?"

"It hurts a little."

"Can you go farther?"

"Maybe?"

"Try."

Squeezing her eyes shut, the holes on her head and torso grew even further, before what was there was only half a face in a pile of string, and what visible skin was left was beginning to turn red with effort. "I... I really can't go farther." She grunted out, tearing up.

"Okay then." Jotaro bent down and grabbed the end of a nearby length of string. "Josuke, take this, and run as far as you can with it, pull it taut."

He looked a little squicked out, holding the end of the string away from his body as he began backing away. "Um, Jolyne, what part of your body is this?"

"It doesn't work like that." She said, annoyed and getting weaker by the second.

Josuke kept running, until Jotaro called for him to wait. "She's too long. Sorry, I was stupid. Jolyne can turn herself into an impossibly long mass of string. An adult human body's arteries and veins alone stretch can 100,000 miles. Jolyne will have substantially less than that, but still far too long for you to stretch to its limit... You should be good enough there. Heal the string like you healed Jolyne earlier, but be sure to hold on to the end of the string."

"Alright." Josuke's Stand appeared once more, and soon the mass of string that was Jolyne glowed. All at once, she seemed to be flung to the two hundred feet away where Josuke was standing. Appearing completely whole, she turned around and checked herself over before giving a sigh of relief. She jumped on Josuke, giving him a hug, before turning to run back to Jotaro.

"I teleported!"

"Not quite, but you definitely got from point A to point B fast." He waved to Josuke, and the teen ran back over to him. "That's a fast method of transportation, your healing."

"Well, it's kind of gross."

"When something breaks, and you fix it, does the entire object, if it's been split apart, return to where you are, or are you able to heal a piece of the object, and it'll go to where the rest of it is?"

"Whichever way I want." Josuke said proudly. "Shit, I can teleport people?"

"Well, we'd have to cut off part of their body for it to work." Jotaro said. "Not everyone can stretch like Jolyne."

"Hmm... I know for a fact that my own hair and dried blood I can fix, but it won't go back into me. But I don't know if that'd be enough for others."

"Interesting." Jotaro pulled a hair from his head, and gave it to Josuke. Taking a few steps back, he ordered "Try to heal the hair, and have the rest of me go to it."

It glowed with pink energy, and Jotaro frowned as he was tugged forward.

"Whoah." Josuke grinned. "So... how do we use this to catch that bastard?"

* * *

 _The next day._

"Are you absolutely sure this is the bottle?"

"Positive." Josuke growled. "You ready?"

The sky grew darker as Jotaro watched their water bottles closely. Tomoko was out of the house at the moment, which meant Jotaro could be out in the open. Jolyne had been left back in the hotel room once again, and Jotaro felt confident he had harmlessly ditched all of her following and listening strings. The things went everywhere. There was no limit to how far Jolyne could stretch them, and when she was worried she stuck them on him. Jotaro wasn't even sure whether the listening-in was subconscious or not. "Yeah. Let's get this over with."

The bottle that killed Josuke's grandfather sat in the palm of Josuke's Stand's hand. It glowed pink, and soon it began to fill with liquid droplets, gathered from every direction.

The droplets coagulated, turning from water into alcohol, and finally, into a screaming, hissing, blue humanoid. "What?! How?!" Angelo's Stand, Aqua Necklace, pounded harmlessly against the glass container. "I don't understand!"

"Just repairing an object to its former state, right?" Josuke said, his voice brimming with tranquil fury. "Your Stand mixes with the water." He shook the bottle savagely, the Stand inside bouncing against the walls of the glass. "I 'fix' an empty bottle so the same water's back inside it again. So that it turns back into the alcohol you tricked my Grandpa with. And that alcohol, was, after all, just your Stand plus the water."

"There." Jotaro said, pointing out a man who had just fallen from a tree. "Shake it again."

Josuke obliged happily, and to their grim satisfaction, the man in the distance jerked in the same direction his Stand did each time.

"There he is." Josuke said. Gripping the bottle tightly, he simply walked forward, the walls of his house collapsing around him as he stepped inward and restoring themselves as he stepped outside. Jotaro, acting quickly, followed before the hole in the wall could disappear, following his young uncle over to the collapsed man.

"Anjuro Katagiri." Jotaro said quietly.

"CRAP!" The enemy Stand user shouted. "No way! This isn't how it works!" His eyes darted back and forth, looking for anything that could be used to his advantage. The two Joestars advanced, closing in on him, on their faces identical looks of quiet rage. "Y-You bastards aint thinking about killing me, are you?! You don't have the right! S-sure, I'm a criminal! A sick one! But even if I was sentenced to death, you don't get to kill me! Because you'd be just as bad, a filthy murderer! Ahahaha!" The fist of Josuke's Stand forced the serial killer's hand into a nearby rock. "What the hell?!

"Don't point at me like that. It's fucking annoying." the teen growled.

"My hand and the rock! Oh God, its fused together!"

Watching Angelo trying to pull himself free, Josuke's face was covered by a look of dark amusement. "No one's going to kill you. Not me, not Mister Jotaro, and not the Government."

"Huh?!"

"Josuke. He's all yours. Go crazy." Jotaro said dismissively.

"One more day! One more day and I would have had you cornered in the rain!" Angelo moaned. "What do you think you're going to do to me?!"

"Welcome to purgatory Angelo." Josuke said, glaring wildy at him. The fists of his Stand rammed the man over and over into the stone behind him. Each punch mixing flesh and rock. "You'll be atoning for your crimes right here. For every person you killed, and especially my grandpa!"

"NOOOO!" He screamed, his voice warping as stone filled his lungs.

"Hey, Angelo." Jotaro said casually. "While you can still talk, answer me. How did you become a Stand User?"

Panting in pain, Angelo looked between the two, Jotaro's stoic mask, and Josuke's suddenly surprised face, when the stone-man suddenly shifted. Smiling gleefully, he stared down at them. "Ghaa... you know what, sure! I'll tell you everything. It was a man in a high school uniform! Now that you're interfering here in Morioh, he'll kill you for me!"

Angelo told his story, and the two Joestars became more and more disturbed as he continued. Culminating in the mention of Dio's name, Jotaro came to his own conclusion.

"That story, it's bull!" Josuke argued.

"Nah, I believe him." Jotaro said, turning his back on the rock-man. "I know the Dio he's talking about. I had always wondered how he got his power ten years ago... from the same bow and arrow."

"Huh." Josuke said, he didn't know who Dio was, and was only beginning to comprehend the true threat Stands had to society. Eyeing the bottle, he quickly repaired the scratches that Aqua Necklace was making in the bottom. "Looks like he was just trying to distract us while he attempted his getaway." He shook the bottle once more, watching the Stand bounce inside.

Inside the rock, Angelo moaned painfully, what parts of him he could move twitching and jerking in the direction Josuke shook the bottle.

"Yeah, we should take care of that." Jotaro said. "Would you do the honors?"

"Yeah." He swung his arm back, and then threw the bottle as hard as he could against the rock face.

"What?! HAH! You idiots I'll just-" before Aqua Necklace could even reach out, let alone move, Josuke's Stand punched through the stone in the same spot, partially shattering the boulder. Glass and rock formed back around the liquid and enemy Stand, fusing and burying itself in the boulder as the rock returned to more-or less its previous state. Letting out a pained gasp, Angelo's eyes and mouth morphed fully into stone.

The two Joestars looked at Josuke's handiwork. Cupping his ear to the rock, Jotaro noted the slight rasping sound continued, but was satisfied.

"Hey Josuke, I thought of a name for your Stand."

"Huh?"


	4. Bad Company

"I'm boooored."

"Then watch some TV."

"I don't want to watch TV." She said, hanging off his jacket, pulling on it, inching back both her father, and the chair he was sitting in a few inches back each time. "I've done nothing but watch TV!"

"Then go out and-" Jotaro began, before catching himself. If Jolyne went out, he would have to go with her. "Nevermind. Look, just read a book or something."

"There isn't anything to read here!" In response, Jotaro dropped a science magazine on her head. "This stuff doesn't count!"

Sighing, Jotaro picked up his phone. His eyes drifted over to the clock on the wall, before tapping in the number. Josuke should be back at his house by now, shouldn't he?

"Hello? Higishikata residence?" It was a woman's voice. Tomoko Higishikata, then. He considered just hanging up, he hated annoying conversations, and explaining why his crappy grandpa wasn't here himself to take care of her and his own illegitimate son surpassed the title of simply 'annoying'. But considering how long he would have to be staying here...

"This is Kujo Jotaro."

"I'm afraid I don't know anyone by that name, I'm sorry, is there something you need? I'm not interested in buying anything."

"Is Higishikata Josuke home? I need to speak with him."

"No, he's still at school. Are you one of his teachers, because if you have a problem, don't worry, I'll set him right. I know he looks like a delinquent, but really he's got a good heart."

He smiled a little. "No, I'm not a teacher. Look, this will be sudden, but I'm not going to dodge around the question. I'm Joseph Joestar's grand son. Legitimate, at least."

"Whu..."

He gave her a few seconds, and Jolyne began kicking at his ankle. He hadn't realized he cut her off to talk on the phone. He picked her up with Star, tossing her onto the bed. Using Star Platinum's voice, so Tomoko wouldn't hear, he said "Shh, be quiet. I'm trying to get Josuke or his mom to take care of you while I'm busy."

"Wait, really?!" Jolyne asked with Stone Free.

"Yeah." Star answered, before fading away. "Look, Miss Higishikata?"

"Y-Yeah? Oh! I'm sorry it's just, I've been waiting, all these years to hear back from him."

"The old man's settling his accounts, he's pretty frigging old, after all. Josuke's name came up as an inheritor."

"Oh?" Tomoko asked, interested. "How much money are we talking about here?"

"A bit. But that's not really what I want to talk to you about. Is it alright if I leave my daughter with you, or rather, with Josuke once he gets home? We've talked already, and I have other business I'm handling in Morioh at the moment."

"How old is she?"

"Six."

"It's a bit sudden... but it'll be nice to hear from Joseph again! Come on over! Wait, just let me get ready-"

"I'm heading over. It'll be about twenty minutes." He hung up the phone, sighing with relief. He hated talking to people. "Come on Jolyne."

"I'm really going over to Josuke's house?"

"Only his mom is there right now, but yeah."

"Great!"

* * *

The drive over to their house went by quickly, Jolyne nearly bursting with energy. "So, does she have a Stand?"

"No."

"Does she know about them?" Jolyne asked. "Can I make string?"

"No."

"Aw... what if I don't show her how I make it?"

"No."

Jolyne slumped down, and looked out the window. Jotaro glanced to the side, and suddenly hit the brakes. Jolyne jerked forwards, neither of them bothering to seat belt her, but was caught by her string. "What the heck Dad?!"

"I want you to look." Jotaro parked the car nearby, and immediately left to head towards the stone. "This is Angelo."

"This is a rock, Dad."

"Josuke made it by combining Angelo with a nearby rock." He motioned for Jolyne to get closer. "You can still hear him breathing."

"That's... really creepy." Jolyne whispered, holding her ear to the former serial killer, now sculpture.

"There are Stands that have done creepier." Jotaro said with a frown. "But this is what Josuke is capable of."

"Can we go?"

"You're not impressed?" Jotaro asked, a little disappointed.

"It's weird." She said stubbornly, climbing back into the car. Jotaro sighed and climbed back in himself, turning the keys and taking off down the street once more. As they got close to the address, Jolyne turned towards the haunted-looking old house on the corner. "Josuke should fix that place!" She said, pointing to it.

"Hm, it'd be a little hard to explain away."

"And a sad breathing rock isn't?" She asked sarcastically.

They stopped in front of Josuke and Tomoko's home. He walked up to the buzzer and hit it, and Tomoko left the door seconds after. She seemed to be nervous, running her fingers through her hair. When she caught sight of Jotaro she froze. "Joseph?" She asked in a daze.

"Jotaro." He said in reply. "We spoke on the phone."

"Y-Yes, of course." She turned and smiled down at Jolyne. "And this must be your child? Joseph's great-grand daughter?"

"And your son's grand-niece."

"Oh, you make him sound so old like that." She bent down, and smiled at Jolyne. "Hello there. My name is Higishikata Tomoko."

"I'm Kujo Jolyne!" She said proudly. "I've met Josuke already."

"When?" She asked, surprised. "Did your father bring you with to meet him? I'd assume this inheritance business would go over your head."

"Yeah."

Jotaro nodded. "Don't feel pressured to do anything special for her. She's pretty damn self-sufficient. I'm sorry to leave this on top of you at short notice. Just tell Josuke that I'll pay him to babysit." He reached into his wallet, pulling out quite a few bills. "Nine thousand yen a day if he'll babysit her after school. If you have a problem with it, I'll look for someone else, but at the moment, your son is the only person I know in town. And he's plenty responsible."

Tomoko blinked. "Nine thousand a day? Are you sure you want to pay him that much?"

"Consider it payment for the inconvenience." He said.

"Well, I'll take her off your hands for today, as a favor to Joseph." She said, grinning down at Jolyne. "And I'll talk to Josuke about the babysitting job. I've been hounding that boy to get a job, and he just hasn't been interested."

Jotaro nodded. "Thank you, Miss Higishikata... and about your father, you have my condolences. I was at the funeral, to pay my respects and meet up with Josuke."

"So that's where he went off to." She said quietly.

"If Joseph were here, he'd do everything he could to protect you and your family. But he's a geezer now, and he doesn't have the strength to come out here. So, I'm here in his stead. If you ever need anything, just call." He said, determined. Looking to Jolyne, he pointed at her suddenly. "Don't make trouble, got it?"

"Got it Daddy!"

"Good." Turning abruptly, he got back in his car and left.

Tomoko put her finger to her lips. "What a strange man."

"Yeah." Jolyne agreed. "My Dad is pretty weird."

* * *

"Where is that boy?" Tomoko said, looking at the clock. "He's definitely done with school by now."

Jolyne shrugged from where she sat at the table, sniffing at the Japanese cooking. She didn't hate it, exactly, but at her core she was a six-year-old American. "Does he have any friends he hangs out with a lot?"

"Not too many," Tomoko said sadly, "our Josuke is a bit of a loner. So! While we wait up for him, tell me about yourself."

"Alright." Jolyne said, looking up and interested. "I've been all over America, cause my Dad is always moving around for his job and for other stuff."

"What does your Dad do?"

"He's a Marine Biologist. And a student. And a detective, and in a year, he might be a doctor!"

"That's a lot." Tomoko raised an eyebrow, "He's a detective?"

"Yeah! He came here because of Josuke, but he also was trying to find a serial killer!"

Tomoko frowned. "Really?"

"Yeah."

"Did... he find him?"

"Yep. He and Josuke fought him, and turned him into a sad rock."

"And your father told you this story?"

Jolyne frowned, thinking. "Yeah, he stopped by this sad-looking rock, and said that Josuke- Oh! But it was just a made up story. Josuke can't put someone into a rock."

Tomoko giggled, "Well, obviously."

"But he really is a marine biologist. He's studying at his school to get his doctorate. So he's been really busy. I've been just watching TV all day, but it's getting distracting for him."

"Ah. Well, you'll be welcome to stay here whenever you want... hey, Jolyne, what do you think of your great-grandpa?"

"Josuke's dad, right?" Jolyne asked as Tomoko blushed and nodded. "He's always fun. But he's really old, but when he was younger, he was really ripped!"

"Ripped?"

"He was even more muscly than my Dad!"

"Yeah... but... he isn't any more?"

"No. Dad says it's just because he's lazy and never does his breathing exercises, but I think it's because he's old."

"Mm. Did he ever mention me? Or Josuke?"

She shook her head. "My Dad's kinda mad about it, because Great Grandpa would brag that 'He only loves his wife'."

"Ah..." she blushed. "Is it causing... a lot of trouble at home?"

"No, but he hasn't told Great Grandma Suzy yet." Tomoko looked a little guilty, and Jolyne got up out of her seat and walked to her side, grabbing her hand. "Don't worry. They'll make it work out. They love each other. And Great grandpa loved you too. You don't have to be sad. No one blames you at least."

"Thanks, Jolyne."

Tomoko got up, gathering Jolyne's dishes as she went, when Jolyne turned her head out towards the road. Her Dad said that her hearing was a lot better than anyone else he had met, because she can hear through her strings. And she was *made* of strings. When she was younger, her Dad would find listening strings attached to him whenever he went out of the house. Mostly she just got echoes and whispers, and needed to actually move her ears closer to understand all of it, and her Dad learned to speak softly when he wanted to keep a phone conversation private.

She could have sworn she heard Crazy Diamond's scream.

And it was nearby. Jolyne walked over to the window, and cracked it open, summoning Stone Free and running her invisible string out into the air, spreading it out over the street to try and get a better fix on it.

"Tomoko, can I go outside?"

"Oh?"

"I just want to look around the neighborhood. And look for Josuke."

"We can go for a walk, if you want. There's a park nearby, too, if you want." She said, smiling.

Dorarara! Diamond's shot echoed.

"I'm more interested in that haunted-looking house."

* * *

Josuke was fuming. Koichi was injured, and there wasn't anything he could do about it with Okuyasu's the Hand in the way.

"The letters on the gate... it can't be that your Stand can remove space?" he asked.

"That's right." Okuyasu bragged, "those characters were destroyed by my right hand. Anything I erase will restore itself as if that were its original form. As for the space that gets removed, even I have no idea what happens to it." He raised his right hand menacingly. "And against people like you, always backing away, I can just do this!" Swiping downward, the air was briefly lit yellow, before vanishing. Josuke found himself suddenly closer to Okuyasu.

"Huh. I can do something like that too. But you really are an idiot." Ducking, he let the flower pots that were behind him, which had also jerked forward from the Hand's removal of space, fly past, colliding with Okuyasu. The boy was conked out immediately, knocked to the ground dazed.

Josuke briefly strangled the boy, if only to make sure that he was absolutely unconscious, and not simply shocked. Looking up, his heart went off-beat as he noticed Koichi wasn't there. Simply a trail of blood leading into the creepy house.

"Koichi!?" Josuke growled. "You Nejimura brothers..." he marched for the door, but stopped at the gate. Crazy Diamond reached down to repair the shorter gate that had been slightly erased. At first, nothing happened, like the new shape was the correct one. But after a moment it split in two, a gaping hole in the gate. "Crazy Diamond repairs things by putting them back together in the right shape... by gathering everything that the object was made of back into the spot it used to have. But if the stuff it was made of is just 'gone'..." he glanced back at Okuyasu. "Man, your Stand is definitely a scary one."

Looking back to the mansion, he marched inside. One brother down, one to go.

* * *

"No one's lived in that place for years." Tomoko explained as the two walked along the road. "It's out little neighborhood's lil' claim to fame. Some people come to check for squatters, sometimes, but otherwise-" Tomoko stopped in her tracks as she stared at Okuyasu's groaning body, lying on the sidewalk outside the open gate. "Oh my God!"

Jolyne frowned, summoning Stone Free and having her stand float around partially unfurled, to get a better look at the other side of the gate. It seemed to only get worse. A path of blood, leading inside the haunted house. And inside- she threw a few invisible listening threads toward the house- were the bizarre sounds of many tiny footsteps.

Tomoko walked over to Okuyasu, bending down to check his pulse. "Oh good, he's alive."

"Someone else might not be, though." Jolyne said seriously, walking through the gate, only paying a moment's attention to the cleanly-cut missing chunk in it.

"Jolyne! Get back here!" Tomoko said harshly, you can't just walk in to someone's house and- is that blood?!" Jolyne ran forward, following the path, and heading for the door. "Jolyne! Jolyne, don't you dare! Your father will-" She was already inside. "-that girl!" Tomoko said, scared and angry. She bent down to pick Okuyasu up, when with a loud groan, he got up on his own. "Oh! You're alright, thank goodness. Just wait here, I need to grab the girl before she finds even more trouble."

"Girl?" Okuyasu muttered, blurry. "My brother... damn that Josuke."

"Josuke?" Tomoko asked harshly. "What do you have to do with Josuke?"

"Eh?" Okuyasu turned to look at her, still slightly out of it. He didn't have time to react before Tomoko slammed him in the face, knocking him back down and out. "So, you've been fighting my son! That had better not be his blood." Getting up, she ran for the door as well, but before taking a step inside, she was struck dumb by the scene unfolding inside it.

An older teenager was standing on one end of the hall, holding a bow and arrow, and a child was bleeding heavily and coughing horribly at his feet. Closer to her, Josuke was standing, body tense with confusion and rage, and across from him was Jolyne.

Suddenly, Josuke and Jolyne jerked to opposite sides as holes began appearing in the floor. "What the-?!" Tomoko managed before screaming as miniscule bullets hit her side, sending her to the ground.

"MOM!" Josuke shouted, noticing her for the first time, and as he turned, noticing Jolyne as well. "Jolyne!? What the fuck are you two doing here!? Get out!"

"I can fight!" Jolyne protested. "You were in trouble!"

"No! Get the fuck out of here, and take my Mom with you!"

"Heh, how lucky. So many distractions." Keicho Nijimura said, smiling. "It's a shame Okuyasu couldn't handle you, so I'll have to take care of things."

Josuke flinched as the flashes appeared in the darkness, and with a strange sound, suddenly pinprick-like holes began appearing nearby him. The wall and nearby pot shattered as he dove for the ground, dodging the strange attack. Jolyne glared at the darkness, Stone Free rising behind her, partially unwound.

Keicho frowned as his tiny soldiers were tugged into visibility by a Stand-made net. Jolyne tugged it towards her, and had Stone Free fling the group of soldiers through the wall and outside.

"Tiny soldiers?" Josuke breathed. "Then these holes are bullet holes in miniature."

"See! I can fight!"

"No, get my mom and get her to safety! I can't risk her, got it?"

"What about him?" Jolyne asked, pointing towards Koichi, rasping for breath. He seemed to be getting worse by the second.

"Shit." Josuke growled. Keicho frowned, grabbing Koichi by the leg and backing up the stairs. At Keicho's feet, more tiny soldiers appeared. He looked back at the door. "Is my Mom alright?"

"She's bleeding." Jolyne said, "So you need to heal her! I'll go rescue the other guy!" She made to run up the stairs, when Crazy Diamond picked her up and tossed her out the door.

"No! Look, is she dying?"

"N-no, it's just her side-"

"Then she's better off than Koichi!" Josuke shouted, "I'll heal her real soon, so just watch over her! Gah! And there's another one outside too, but he should be knocked out..."

"Let me fight!"

"Protect my fucking Mom, Jolyne!" Josuke shot back, before running up the stairs. "And don't you dare leave her alone, got it! Jotaro will be hearing about this!"

"No!" Jolyne hissed, running back in and following. "You need help! I'm able to catch those guys-"

"And what if he kills you, huh? What'll happen then?"

"You can just heal me-"

"I can't bring people back to life, Jolyne! When people die, they lose everything! Now, go and protect my Mom! Trust me!"

She faltered, and Josuke simply ran ahead. She stood on the steps another few moments before turning back to go to Tomoko.

* * *

"Oh god..." Tomoko managed, pushing herself to sit up. Josuke was still in there! She needed to call the police, and get Josuke and Jolyne out of there. To her relief, after some shouting, Jolyne came running outside. "Jolyne, oh thank goodness, what happened in there, are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Jolyne said, determined. She looked at the wound and grimaced. She had always read and watched the same things Jotaro did. Blood, violence, and gore were part of a good amount of nature documentaries and pictures attached to files from the Speedwagon Foundation. She wasn't afraid of things like this. "Does it hurt?"

"I'm okay, don't worry honey. Where's Josuke?"

"He's trying to help the other guy the enemy hurt."

"...Enemy?" Jolyne concentrated, running thread into Tomoko's sides and interweaving through the tiny bullet wounds. With a pull, the wounds were squeezed shut. Tomoko was startled with the sudden yanking sensation on her side, and looked at the wounds suddenly all closed, without any explanation. "What was that?" she asked, watching how Jolyne had been staring intently right before it happened.

"I'm giving you stitches." Jolyne clarified. "Josuke can heal people better though."

"How? He's a high schooler! What's going on?!"

"A Stand Battle. My Daddy really did fight a serial killer. And Josuke put him into a rock. I make string, Josuke fixes things, Dad stops time, and the Enemy in there makes little soldiers. They shot you."

"They... shot... me?"

"Yeah."

"This is ridiculous..." Tomoko muttered, but all the same, she had hundred of tiny wounds and a little girl had just closed all those wounds painlessly. "...How?!"

"We don't know." Jolyne said, standing up and walking over to Okuyasu. "...We should tie him up."

"Does Joseph know about this?"

"Yeah, Josuke inherited his Stand from him. He makes purple vines like I make string." She began creating string, tying together Okuyasu's hands behind his back. "What does he do?"

"What- you think he's one of them too?"

"Why else would Josuke fight him?"

"C-Can I get a Stand?"

"Daddy says that can be dangerous. If you don't have enough fighting spirit, when you get your Stand you get really sick."

"Sick? Is Josuke in danger?"

Jolyne looked back at the house. "Not from being sick."

Tomoko winced as she looked down at her side, it was red and sore, and there were many tiny droplets of blood forming, like from a pin-prick. "Is... is there any way you can help him?" She looked back at the house, and watched as Jolyne flinched, as if from an explosion only she could hear, as the house shook to its foundations.

"Yeah! I'm really strong!" To show it off, she lifted herself in the air with Stone Free. "But Josuke told me to make sure you were safe. And he can heal people, so he'll be able to save the other guy."

"The other boy, the child... Jolyne, how do I get a Stand?"

"I don't know! And it's really dangerous. Dad said Grandma got a horrible fever because she wasn't strong enough, that her Stand was killing her, and no doctors could fix it, since only Stand Users can see Stands."

"A... horrible fever?" Tomoko asked, chilled to the bone. "Without any explanation, that can't be cured?"

"Yeah."

"So he's had it since all the way back then. What gave him his Stand?"

"It's passed down family's."

"So it's Joseph's fault?!"

"No, it's Dio's fault. He's a guy my Dad killed when he was a teenager, with Great-Grandpa. Dio did something to one of my really-really-great grandpas body, who died a long time ago, which gave all of that his descendants a Stand all at once."

"Then I can't get one?" Joylne shrugged. Tomoko, with a huff, got to her feet and grabbed Jolyne's hand, not caring that the girl was still floating. "Come on!" She growled.

"Where are we going?"

"I'm going to call the police!"

"What are they going to do?"

"...Then I'm calling the hospital!"

"Josuke can just heal us."

"How?"

"He just waves his hand, and anything that's broken is put back together."

Tomoko blinked, and then bit down the annoyance that came with the knowledge that so much money had been lost getting things repaired over the years. She had never noticed before, but now that she thought about it, she had never once come home to find something broken, but Josuke was sometimes clumsy as hell. Dozens of dishes thrown away, that couldn't have. But she had other things to think about. "Then who could help us?"

"My Dad." Jolyne said proudly. "He's the strongest in the world!"

"What can he do?"

"He doesn't want me to talk about it." She frowned. "He's going to yell at me for talking to you about Stands at all. But Josuke's in danger!"

"Fine. We'll call him." She pulled the still-floating Jolyne alongside her as she ran for the house, and where Jotaro's phone number was inside it.

* * *

Josuke swatted aside tiny tank fire with Crazy Diamond's fists. His Stand's hands weren't torn apart by the impact, as the punch was strong enough to deflect it away before it exploded, but it was taking its toll. Josuke's hands were a bloody mess.

As it was, in the dark and creaking house, he could barely sight the Enemy Stand. Koichi, arrow removed, and body bleeding out, laid in the center of the room, the mysterious Enemy taunting him wordlessly. Josuke twitched and swatted at his back with his hand when he felt a tiny man crawling up it. For his trouble he got a tiny dagger embedded in his thumb, and one hell of a burn where a teeny grenade went off over his jacket. Tiny tanks were rolling towards him, their cannons aimed for the space between him and the door holding Koichi.

"Shit." Looking over at Koichi, and the way his coughing was getting weaker, he looked at the trail of blood.

Josuke's own dried blood could be made wet again, but it wouldn't go into his body. But maybe for Koichi... Crazy Diamond slapped the blood, and Koichi jerked forward to meet the blood Josuke sent back half-way. Grinning, Josuke backed away from the ambush room, closer to the stairs, and had Crazy Diamond restoring the blood path on the way back. With each bloodstain on the floor removed, Koichi jerked closer to Josuke. Just a little farther...

The tip of Koichi's finger was within reach of Crazy Diamond, and Josuke didn't hesitate, coating his friend with restorative energy. Koichi got up, blinking in surprise at the world around him.

"Ahh! Wh-What happened?"

"Koichi, thank God!" Josuke breathed out a sigh of relief. "Get behind me, we need to get out of here."

"What's going on, all I can remember is getting stuck in the door, and then... and then... Wait, where are we?"

"Look, we're not out of danger yet. We need to get out of this house, right now." The question being, would the other guy in the high school uniform let them? Looking around carefully, he inched towards the stairs. How had Jolyne noticed those first soldiers in the darkness?

Noticing a flash of light, he darted to the side, yanking Koichi with him out of the way of more gunfire. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a lighter, only to have it get blown away by pinprick holes destroying it and making his hand even more of a mess. "Shit!"

"Did you burn yourself?" Koichi looked confused, following Josuke's eyes, and then staring in utter confusion as tiny men began parachuting down from the rafters. The falling fighters began to fire at him, he got sprayed with tiny bullets, wincing and flinching back from the pain, flailing blindly with the full force of Crazy Diamond's punches, smashing a few of them to pieces.

The remaining part of the army touched down, before forming ranks, becoming a wall of death that filled the hall and blocked the way to the stairwell. There was only one exit, the room behind them.

"I underestimated them." Josuke said, afraid. Grabbing Koichi, he dashed into the room, ducking to the left of the door as gunfire filled the space he and Koichi had been in just a second before.

"Josuke, what is this?"

"Don't bother asking, I can't explain it right now!" Looking around the pitch-black room, he noted cracks of sunlight coming from a boarded-over window. "Lucky! We'll have to jump, but at least we can get out of here." Crazy D should be able to cushion them, and if not, an Enemy Stand is definitely deadly, while a fall from the second floor was only maybe deadly.

"What?!" But before he could make a move, helicopters began appearing. "Josuke! At your side!" Koichi warned, looking at more tanks appearing from thin air as well.

"It's a whole fucking military." He growled, before blinking in surprise. "You saw them? You're a Stand User?"

"What's a Stand?"

"We'll talk about it later!"

"Oh?" The two turned towards the third voice, their Enemy suddenly making himself known, standing near the other door out of the room. "So he's a Stand User now?"

Josuke reached behind him, pulling nails from the wall, and throwing them with Crazy Diamond as hard as he could at the high-schooler. The army on the floor, as one, fired at the nails, turning them to dust before it could hit him. "My name is Nijimura Keicho. And this, is my Stand. **Bad Company**."

"Like I care, shithead."

"The reason I've chosen to reveal myself is because of your little friend."

"M-me?" Koichi asked.

"Yes, you. I'm looking for a Stand User with a certain ability... I didn't think you really had it in you. So, bring it out, and I might allow you to live." he glared at Josuke. "You, and that brat you were with earlier, have useless powers, so I'm afraid I'll have to kill you both."

"What?!" Koichi asked, panicking. "What does he mean, Josuke?"

Keicho grinned evilly, "Bring out your Stand, right now. Or I'll kill you both!"

"How do I-"

"Listen up Koichi. It's actually super simple, really. You just have to think, deep to yourself, 'I have to protect myself' and 'I really want to kick this guy's ass', and that's it."

"Th-That's it?!"

"Yeah, the rest is all instinct."

The shorter teen was sweating in fear now. All of this was crazy! All of it! "Even if you say that, how am I supposed to just-" both teens froze as a tiny grappling hook shot into Koichi's collar, one of the Bad Company soldiers scaling up Koichi's chest like a man climbing up a wall.

"I'll help you. Stealth squad! Attack!" Keicho barked like a general. The soldier began stabbing Koichi in the chin and in the neck. Before Josuke could help him, a glowing egg appeared in the air, before suddenly dropping.

All three of them stared at it. Emotions mixing in a general mess of disappointment and plain befuddlement.

"Can you move it?" Josuke asked quietly.

"How am I supposed to move it?" Koichi asked, a little irritated, and exhausted from summoning his Stand for the first time.

"It just... moves!" Josuke tried to explain. "It just does! When you want it."

The three stared a little longer.

Keicho sighed. "Well, it's an interesting experiment, at least." he pointed at them, and the soldiers were suddenly at attention, getting back into formation, helicopters and tanks in their midst. "What happens when someone clearly unsuited for a Stand is healed from the injury before they die? An utterly useless dud of a Stand!" All of them open fired at once. Crazy Diamond punched like crazy, deflecting as much as he could away from them, and kicking the egg to the side to get Koichi out of the line of fire. Both of Josuke's hands were ragged now, and Keicho didn't let up. Soldiers split off from the main group, for now, ignoring Koichi to scale the walls of the room to get above Josuke. The attack helicopters fired their missiles, and Josuke backed up, step by step, beginning to fail now and again to deflect it. Tiny holes riddled his chest as he missed a burst of gunfire.

Koichi bit his lip, urging his Stand to do something, anything.

"Huh, is this all it'll take?" Keicho taunted. He began walking forward, and Josuke spit some blood from his mouth, getting up and walking forward to meet him. He collapsed a second later once more, when his first step was onto a mine the size of a coin.

"Fuck!" He shouted, dropping down. The army shifted once more, surrounding him in a circle. Ripping the button from his jacket, he had Crazy Diamond launch it past Keicho. The man didn't bother having it shot down, the piece of metal missing him completely and embedding itself in the wall.

"Hah! Can't even throw right? And even if you had any aim, my army could have shot it down like nothing."

Josuke looked over at Koichi. "Koichi, I need you to run."

"And leave you here?!"

Josuke smirked, touched, "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine." He pointed at the door, the army's movement to surround Josuke leaving it unprotected.

"Wh-What about the Bow and Arrow?"

Keicho's attention turned back to Koichi, glaring. "What do you want with it?" He snarled.

"L-look, if we don't get him now, he'll just keep on killing people with it!" Koichi declared.

"What do you expect to do? You can't even defeat me, let alone think of stopping me."

Josuke looked Koichi in the eyes, before darting his eyes towards the door. "Now. Don't worry. I'm great. And I've got a plan."

Koichi hesitated another moment, before turning and running.

"Oh no you don't!" Keicho growled. The soldiers closest to Koichi turned, raising their guns and cannons, as Josuke forced himself to jump to the side, before having Crazy Diamond repair his jacket.

Two things happened at once.

The pointed metal button shot from the wall, and headed for Josuke.

Josuke, pulled by his jacket, that he held to him with all the power in his bloody hands, to keep it from flying off, was headed for the button.

Between the two objects rushing for each other was Keicho, focused entirely on Koichi. Josuke's entire frame impacted against Keicho's in a tackle, as the button cut a long slice along Keicho's stomach before affixing itself to Josuke's now fixed and spotless uniform.

"Dammit!" Keicho growled, all units, attac-" he caught himself at the last moment, his entire army turning and raising his weapons towards Josuke, and thus him as well. He shuddered as he felt the hand of Crazy Diamond wrap around his head.

"Hey~" Josuke said, casually, "you know, having such a close-range Stand like mine sure is a problem, sometimes." The ghostly hand held Keicho's head in place as the other hand reared back, Crazy Diamond smiling wildly. "But it does have it's advantages. If someone gets right-up and personal with me, I can defend against anything. You though, with your Stand spread all through the room..."

"Damn." Keicho said, before a high-speed fist collided with his face, over and over, making his nose a bloody mess, and quickly knocking him out.

Koichi, leaned back inside the door. "Is... is it over?"

"Yeah." Josuke said, grinning as Bad Company faded. "It's over."

* * *

Jotaro screeched past another car, Star Platinum acting as a second set of eyes as he drove like a madman, heading back the way he had come.

"Less than an hour." He muttered. "Less than an hour, and already there are two Enemy Stand Users! I can't let that girl go unwatched for a second!"

His car skidded into place next to the haunted mansion, Jolyne and a boy Jotaro didn't recognize waiting for him at the entrance.

"What's going on?!" He demanded. Jolyne flinched at the tone of his voice, and started to tear up a bit. "Well?!"

"Hey!" Koichi said, stepping in front of Jolyne. "Calm down! We're all fine now."

Jotaro looked at the determined look in the boy's eyes, and forced himself to calm down. His glare didn't cool though. "I told you not to get into any trouble."

"I'm sorry." she said softly.

"It's not her fault!" Koichi said. "It was me who poked my head through the door... all this fighting, Josuke's wounds, it's because of me."

Jotaro frowned, and simply walked past them. Star appeared, and placed a hand on top of both of their heads. "Fine." He grunted. "If that's how it is, there's no helping it. Explain the situation."

"O-okay." Jolyne began. "I heard with my strings that Josuke was fighting someone, so I wanted to check on him. So I told Miss Tomoko I wanted to see the haunted house, where Josuke was fighting."

"Why did you involve Tomoko? If you called me and told me what was happening, I would have come-"

"I needed to help him! What if he had gotten hurt? Josuke can't heal himself!"

Josuke sighed. "Good grief... Do you think Josuke would prefer you putting yourself in danger?"

"No. He yelled at me too."

"Good. What happened?"

"Me and Miss Tomoko went over to the gate, and she knocked out the first Enemy Stand User, who Josuke had beater earlier, but who was getting up. And then I went in, and showed Josuke the army guys the second Enemy Stand User had, but they shot at Miss Tomoko. So Josuke told me to stop helping him, and help Miss Tomoko instead."

"Josuke healed her?"

"First he went to fight the second Enemy. I gave her stitches, and then we called you." Jotaro nodded, a silent 'good job' for at least calling him rather then trying to handle it herself.

Koichi shuddered. "The second Stand User, the one who shot me with an arrow-" Jotaro's interest shot up, "-wanted to see if I would develop a Stand. But it didn't work, and I started dying. Josuke saved me, but got really messed up. He managed to beat the guy though. He was absolutely amazing."

"So, do you have a Stand now?"

"Kind of." Koichi said, embarrassed. An egg appeared at their side, before dropping to the ground. Jotaro notably didn't look unimpressed.

"What does it do?"

"We don't know yet."

Jotaro nodded. "No matter what ability is has, all Stands can be utilized to be devastatingly effective, if the User is strong enough, and smart enough."

Jolyne grinned, grabbing Koichi's hand. "Come on, we need to talk to the others."

"Anything else I should know?"

"We caught them both alive." Koichi said. "But we lost the Bow and Arrow, oh, and one other thing-"

"How?" Jotaro interrupted. "Where are they?"

"We don't know! After we beat them, and made sure Josuke wasn't about to die, we began to search the house for the Bow and Arrow. The Nijimura's- the Stand User brothers, were shooting people because they were trying to find someone with a specific ability. One of the people they gave a Stand to, his Stand came and stole the Bow and Arrow."

"It travels through electrical cables." Jolyne announced. "They told me. And it's name is Red Hot Chili Peppers."

"Well shit." Jotaro growled. "Looks like we'll have to stay here even longer Jolyne." The little girl smiled at that. "I'll have to look for a new babysitter, if Tomoko knows about all of this, she'll want to stay as far away as possible-"

"Um, Mister Jotaro?" Koichi interrupted.

"Yeah?"

"Josuke's mom, Tomoko? She's definitely involved. She and Jolyne came back, and helped us tie up the second Stand user. When we found the Arrow, she, uh, well-" by now they had entered the house and made their way up into the room where the group was staying, for now.

In the center were the Nijimura brothers, both healed from their injuries, but still very much unconscious and tied up. In the corner, sitting next to a bizarre creature that looked eerily similar to the stuff he pulled from Kakyoin and Polnareff's head, once upon a time, was Josuke. His clothes had been repaired, and an open first-aid kit had clearly been used, but he still looked pretty messed up.

And standing across from the three entering the room, leaning against the now open window, was Higishikata Tomoko, grinning at a feminine figure made up entirely of floating red stone cubes.

"Ah! Jotaro!" Tomoko said, noticing the man walk in. The figure behind her quickly vanishing. "I'm so sorry!"

Caught off guard, Jotaro blinked "What for?"

"I agreed to take care of Jolyne, and Josuke got her wrapped up into all this!" She bowed. "I would like to apologize!"

"N-No, there's no need. You didn't do anything wrong." Jotaro glared at the two teenagers tied up in the center of the room. "It's them who started this. The rest is just you trying to protect yourselves and a civilian." he looked at Tomoko, raising an eyebrow. "Did they shoot you with the Bow and Arrow too?"

"No, I did it on purpose." Tomoko said casually.

"What?! You could have died!"

"Josuke could have just healed me." She looked annoyed at her son, before noticing his injuries again, and softening her expression and tone. "Honestly, Josuke~! It could have saved us so much money! Think of those times I had to skip work because I was sick, or when we had to replace our broken appliances, or the car!"

"Sorry, Mom."

"Yeah, well, no more. From now on, we're not wasting anything that you can fix!" She looked thoughtful for a second, before smiling. "Can you return the charges to batteries? Or refill a car's tank?"

"I... don't see why I couldn't?"

"You haven't even tried?"

"I didn't think of it."

She smiled. "What a useful skill Josuke has."

Jotaro frowned. "That's still dangerous. My own mother almost died, because of her Stand."

"Josuke healed Koichi fine from the same thing, right? I don't understand why he can't fix himself. We'll have to take him to the hospital later."

"Do you know what your Stand does?" Jotaro asked.

"I think so." Her Stand appeared once more, "I wanted to protect my son, and Jolyne, from this kind of danger. To keep them from getting hurt." The Stand, which was mimicking Tomoko's movements, then split up, losing its humanoid form and reforming behind her as a solid square stone wall. "This is my Stand, **the Wall**."

* * *

Keicho blinked awake, and suddenly Star Platinum, Stone Free, the Wall, and Crazy Diamond appeared, all staring down at him, arms crossed. He winced, glaring at them all. "So you didn't kill me?" He muttered. Looking at his father sitting in the corner, mourning over a piece of paper, he was filled with rage. "Damn it all! I've come to far to give up now! Why would you crush my goals like this!?"

"Stands are dangerous. Most people, when given power like that, abuse it to their own ends," Jotaro muttered "making Stand Users willy-nilly is irresponsible and dangerous, who knows how many monsters you've unleashed on this town."

Tomoko growled, "Doing this to my poor son- why!? What did he do to you?"

"Shooting Koichi, when you didn't even think he could make a Stand..." Josuke hissed out, furious. "...you straight-up tried to murder him!"

"You're an asshole!" Jolyne added.

He looked to his side, where Okuyasu was completely transfixed on their father. Useless. If he was thinking, he'd realize they all had their Stands so close to them. One well-aimed swipe with the Hand would be enough to put all their enemies out of commission at once! The fury began to build up in him. It would be risky... but he could still salvage the situation. A single soldier of Bad Company appeared, squeezed between Okuyasu's and Keicho's sides, as they were tied together, hidden from their enemies.

The small soldier had a bag with it, filled to the brim with tiny coin-sized landmines. At this range, both he and Okuyasu would take a hard hit, but it might be enough of a distraction to give them a moment to back away, and it would definitely destroy the knot, placed behind their backs, that held them together. Okuyasu had to notice the soldier's sudden mass pressing against his side, but his brother barely gave a reaction, carefully not looking at the side. Keicho was impressed, for a moment.

The soldier punched the first bomb, and the chain-reaction explosion of a dozen tiny mines blew them apart. The blocks of the Wall immediately split up, forming a shield in front of the Stands, catching the worst of the explosion. Okuyasu had caught the worst of the explosion, most of his left arm gone, and a good deal of his side a mess. Keicho, luckier, had only lost a hand and given himself a horrible burn on his side. With a bit of free room, he summoned more and more of Bad Company, his soldiers pouring out of his aura and opening fire. The blocks shot here and there, catching every tiny bullet and tiny explosion. Groups of four or five blocks each caught every missile his helicopters launched.

Before he could swear, or begin to strategize, strings shot out from the cracks in the floorboards, forming loops and snaking around his arms and legs, before yanking him down to the floor, trapped and bound to the ground. A group of his soldiers broke off to try and cut the strings, but Jotaro and Josuke stepped forward, walking without fear through the confused mess of soldiers, stamping everything around them with their Stand's legs.

"Dammit Okuyasu!" he screamed, "HELP ME!" Okuyasu wasn't moving, he realized. He had truly been hit hard by the mini-mines. "Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! You stupid brother!" he groaned, close to tears, beginning to feel the pain of his hand, and knowing it was only a fraction of what he had dealt to Okuyasu. "Why did you stay with me, you stupid brother? You should have told them. They would have stopped the explosion... Why would you stay loyal to me?"

Josuke walked over to Okuyasu, and to Keicho's amazement, Crazy Diamond reached over and with a single movement, Okuyasu was fine. His brother picked himself up, staring at Josuke in utter bewilderment.

"You... saved me?" he looked surprised and angry, then, "Why did you heal me?! I'm your enemy! I tried to kill you, you know!"

"No particular reason." Josuke answered. "I just don't think that just being evil is a reason to let someone die painfully like that."

"But... you're not healed yourself. Why can't you just-"

"I can't heal myself with my Stand. Only other people. Besides, I don't believe in killing my enemies. If they're dead, they lose everything. No one deserves that."

He stared dumbly, before looking over to his father. "What is my father lookin' at?" he said quietly.

"Those scraps of paper that were in that chest he was digging through, they belonged to a family photo." Josuke shrugged. "I figured it wouldn't do any harm, he was so upset before."

Okuyasu looked at Josuke, then at his father, and then his brother, before sitting down and sighing. "I just... don't get it."

Tomoko grinned. "My boy's a saint, isn't he?"

"Mom!" Josuke blushed. "I just do what I feel like. There's nothing deeper than that."

Jotaro nodded, looking over at Keicho, who observed the exchange with a growing look of resentment. He rubbed Jolyne's head. "Good thinking with the limbs."

Bursting with pride, she did a twirl, and more string was sent up, around a support column, and then down to Keicho, mixing with the string already there, Keicho was lifted into the air, limbs held wide as he was suspended in the middle of the room in a mess of string, looking like he was trapped in some massive spider web "Give up, Enemy Stand User!" She demanded dramatically.

Jotaro had Star continuously stamping more soldiers, and Tomoko's the Wall automatically blocked the attacks of soldiers, and pushed them around whenever they got close to any of the other people there. Koichi watched in wonder, amazed at what the combination of Stands could do.

As the soldiers and their vehicles were crushed, Keicho got wearier and wearier, and less and less new ones popped into existence to replace old ones. After a few minutes, the blond teenager was breathing heavily, and the Wall disappeared, its protection no longer needed. Okuyasu, under the watchful eye of Josuke, retreated to the corner of the room to sit with his father and look at the photo together with him, crying silently.

"So..." Jotaro began, his glare turned to Keicho, suspended in Stone Free's webs. "Talk."

"...I will only do so... if you find a Stand User that can make my father turn back to normal, and kill him!"

Jotaro turned towards Josuke. "Did you try healing him?"

"It didn't have any affect." Josuke said sadly "Restoring him as much as possible, it basically just rearranged the particular placement of the bumps and slime. I can't make him into a human again... whatever happened to him, it happened so long ago he probably doesn't have enough regular human flesh left to make anything."

"Sorry. We can keep looking." Jotaro said. "I have contacts at the Speedwagon Foundation, they've been looking into Vampire Cells for... well, for longer than I've been alive, by a long shot."

Koichi, Tomoko, Josuke, and Okuyasu all stared at him, and all at the same time silently mouthed the simple question: Vampires?

Jotaro rolled his eyes, "Everyone in this room has a psychic ghost-thing under their control. Nothing in this world is impossible." Turning back to Keicho, he glared, "How many people have you killed?"

"Are you sending me to prison? With my power-"

"You could escape any prison you wanted." Jotaro finished. "I know."

Jolyne nodded "A Stand User could never get stuck in a prison."

"Then... what are you considering?"

"I'm going to make you 'Retire'." Jotaro growled. "Unless you convince me you're more useful as a functioning person."

Keicho felt a chill go down his spine. "My father... sold his soul to a man named Dio, for money. The bastard abused us ever since the economy went bad and our mother died, but as his children... we at least owe him a normal death. He was loyal to Dio, but to make sure, he put something in him. His cells. When Dio died, the cells went out of control, and my father turned into that thing. He can't die, can't do anything, can't even recognize us-" he stopped, thinking of the picture. "I... I thought..." he sighed. "I don't know what to think."

Okuyasu let out a sad laugh. "You can't say that brother, that's my job. You're the plan guy."

Keicho closed his eyes. "I've been trying to find, or make, a Stand User who can kill my father."

"I'd recommend sunlight, but that apparently hasn't had any effect." Jotaro said.

"We're not helping him kill him!" Josuke protested.

Jotaro looked over at the Nijimura brothers' father. That could have been Kakyoin. That could have been Polnareff. "I think it'd be the kindest thing we can do for him-"

Tomoko frowned, before walking over to stand with Josuke by Okuyasu, Jolyne rushing to join her. "We won't be doing anything so hasty-" Tomoko protested.

"You can't just kill him, Daddy-"

"-If the Speedwagon foundation can't heal him." Jotaro finished, expecting them to agree, but they all simply were just as stubborn, Koichi joining Josuke on the other side, and even putting a supporting hand on Okuyasu's shoulder.

"No." Okuyasu said, determined. "If... if he can remember us... that means Dad's still in there, probably." hope was beginning to shine in his eyes, and he teared up as he looked between Josuke and Koichi. "I can't believe all of this... we... we were determined to follow this through, for Dad's sake. Even if we had to kill people..."

Keicho sighed. He had lost.

"...Let me down." He said. "Okuyasu, is Dad really still in there?"

"Yeah bro. He is."

"Then I've got no reason to do this shit any more." He said quietly. "We can finally start our own lives."

"Do you think you can get off scott-free?" Tomoko asked harshly. "Okuyasu here might be a minor, but you're an adult, and you've been shooting people with that arrow, where Josuke wasn't there to help them survive it!"

Jotaro looked at Tomoko. "I know it'll sound unfair... but there really is no prison that will hold him, if he tries hard enough. And I don't like killing unarmed men. Not that a Stand User is ever really unarmed. The best we can do, is watch him ourselves.

She narrowed her eyes at Keicho, before sighing. "I guess you're the most experienced with this stuff, Jotaro."

He nodded, and turned to Jolyne. "Let him down kid."

"Okay Daddy." The strings snaked back into her body in a flash, dropping her prisoner to his feet.

"Well... if that's all done for. I need to talk to some people from the Speedwagon Foundation. We need to track down that Arrow."

"Wait," Keicho said, shocked. "You lost it?!"

"Something calling itself Red Hot Chili Peppers took it." Koichi explained. "After we knocked you out and Tomoko used the Arrow, it popped out of the electrical socket."

"...Then I know who you're looking for."

* * *

 **The Wall**

 _User- Higishikata Tomoko_

 _Destructive Power- D_

 _Speed- D_

 _Range- C_

 _Durability- B_

 _Precision- B_

 _Developmental Potential- D_

Abilities- Controls a large number of cubes that can take a variety of shapes. An automatic Stand, the Wall will either exactly mimic Tomoko's actions in humanoid form, or form barriers to protect Tomoko or things she cares for.

When she brings it out, she can choose its placement and orientation anywhere in a twenty meter diameter around herself. She can bring her Stand out in two shapes; humanoid, at which point it will mimic any and all movements Tomoko makes, or as a 'default' wall. Both shapes however, will break apart randomly in order to shield anything Tomoko wants to protect. Once it breaks off, Tomoko loses all direct control of those blocks, and they will move to protect things Tomko cares about without any control or input from Tomoko. They will continue doing this until those blocks are destroyed, or Tomoko chooses to call off her Stand, but even if she calls back her Stand, if the blocks are actively protecting something, they will not disappear until Tomoko feels whatever they were protecting is safe.

She cannot choose to make it stop protecting things she cares about, or make it protect someone she doesn't want to. The only way would be for her to honestly not care about those things. Cannot attack, except when in human form mimicking Tomoko.

A destroyed block stops floating, and will fade away. The Wall doesn't transfer damage taken to its User, however it takes several minutes for destroyed blocks to regenerate, and she can only produce a set amount of blocks, and blocks regenerate one-at-a-time. Meaning, if the Wall was completely destroyed, it would take several hours before Tomoko could use it in its entirety again.

* * *

Tomoko's Stand "the Wall" is named after the song "Another Brick in the Wall" by Pink Floyd, the same band that made the song that inspired the name of Crazy Diamond (Shine on you crazy diamond). It felt appropriate. Sorry for such a long wait, by the way! I was dealing with other non-fanfic related stuff, but I'll be focusing back on this one. There won't be nearly as long a wait as there was for this one.


	5. The Lock

"Daddy, what you said earlier to Koichi..."

"Yeah?"

"You said that no matter what ability it has, any Stand can be really effective, right? If the user is smart enough?"

"Yeah."

"What about the Sun?"

Jotaro sputtered, choking on his own breath as he desperately attempted to not giggle, the car swerving for a second. "Pfft-"

"Well?"

"Well, that just proves my point, I think. The Sun was a frigging idiot." Jolyne's eyes widened as she saw the genuine smile on his face. "If we didn't figure out his stupid, stupid trick, we might have died from the heat. The Sun sapped our endurance, and once we realized that it was a Stand, we didn't have any way to even touch it. Me and Pol both had short-range Stands, and Kakyoin and Gramps' Stands don't have any kick. Not to mention that thing's sunbeam attacks or whatever."

"That makes sense."

* * *

A few days had passed without incident, and Jotaro was spending the Saturday at their, for the foreseeable future, permanent new home at the Grand Morioh Hotel with Jolyne. He was dropping her off with Josuke every weeknight, now, but still made it a point to spend as much time with her as possible on the weekends. It was ironic. Ever since the divorce, he had felt like he had been saddled with Jolyne. That she was an obstacle to him, to his doctorate, to his schoolwork and fieldwork with the Foundation.

But dragging her along with him, having her be a near-constant companion for the last few years, as he juggled taking care of her alongside everything else in his life, he grew used to it. It wasn't like he hated her or anything, he loved the brat, or he would have refused to take care of her, Stand or not. But his schoolwork was important if he wanted to get his doctorate as a marine biologist. It technically wasn't necessary, with his foundation connections he'd be able to get a job pretty easily. But he felt that he had spent so long earning it, that if he fell behind at this stage, it would be a crushing blow. If he had to be in Morioh, investigating the Bow and Arrow, and the connections with other Stands, he needed a lot of time to himself to focus on the college work.

Tomoko and Josuke had been a god-send. The teen was good-natured about it, despite having to do his own schoolwork. Finally, for the first time since he came to Morioh, he was making steady progress with his thesis.

But it also meant that the near-constant presence of Jolyne was just gone, most of the day. They ate breakfast, he had to leave for the university, or the foundation's local office, or any number of places he was investigating or might contribute to one of his projects, and then in the afternoon he would come back and try to work while also taking care of her. Now, when he came back, he just drove her to the Higishikata house, and picked her up a few hours later.

Eight hours had become forty minutes with his daughter. Soon, he would set her up to begin first grade at a school here in Morioh and he wouldn't even spend the mornings with her anymore.

He hadn't really realized how much that bothered him until now.

"Hey, Jolyne, do you like spending so much time at the Higishikatas? I could pick you up earlier, if you want."

"No, it's really fun! They're all so nice. You should marry miss Tomoko, she's a good Mom." She froze, only realizing what she said after it left her mouth, and already blushing in embarrassment.

Jotaro spent several moments blinking, trying to process that sentence. "What?"

"Nevermind!" Jolyne said innocently, "But it's fun there. Josuke takes me out around the town a lot with Okuyasu and Koichi. I think he's having as much fun as I am too. I don't think he used to have any friends."

"No, no, go back to what-" the phone interrupted him, and Jolyne looked a little relieved. He picked it up.

"Is this Kujo Jotaro?" the voice on the other side of the line asked.

"Who is this? I don't recognize your voice." he responded.

"You know, Kujo Jotaro, you should really just leave Morioh."

"Why should I listen to a random stranger who won't even tell me his name. You haven't even given me a reason. Would you get up and move for something like that?"

"I have the Bow and Arrow."

Jotaro grinned. "Oh do you, Otoishi Akira?"

The line was silent for a few minutes, but then Jotaro heard an irritated sigh. "I should have killed those brothers."

"What you should have done, was keep your mouth shut. You even told him your name."

"I wanted to learn more about Stands! I had to introduce myself, or I would have been rude, God!" the line responded angrily. "So you know my name. I'm not stupid enough to stay in one place, especially now that I have the power to do anything I want! Now... I want you to know... this is my town, got it? I heard you were pretty tough, so I'm giving you this chance: Get out of Morioh. Josuke too, and his hot mom, I'm not planning to do a thing to them, as long as they stop looking for me and don't get in my way. I just want to have myself a good time. Not worry about normal people shit like exams and a job."

"I already knew you were a student... so you were right there, then, when the Bow and Arrow were stolen, you know about Tomoko's Stand."

"Shut up man! Look, stay too long in my town, or I'll kill you and Josuke both! And don't think your families will be safe either, bastard."

Jotaro's eyes narrowed. "Tell me, are you in contact with any of the other Stand Users in this town?" The voice on the other end didn't give an answer, the phone simply shook as power rushed through it, the electricity exploding the entire construct.

"Daddy!" Jolyne shouted, rushing over to him. "Who was it?"

"Red Hot Chili Peppers." He said simply. "I'm going to pump Keicho for information."

Jolyne frowned. "Pump him?"

"Interrogate." Josuke answered shortly. "I let him off earlier pretty lightly, cause he gave me a solid lead. But I need to know more. Who knows how many Stand Users the guy created? If he knows Akira's name, he might know more."

"Can I help?"

"Nah. Just... stay here for now. I'll come back in an-" he looked back at the smoking husk of the phone. Akira had threatened his daughter. And he knew where Jotaro lived. "...Come on, we're going to Josuke's."

"Yay!"

* * *

"You want her... to live with us?" Tomoko asked, surprised.

"Red Hot Chili Peppers knows where I live." Jotaro growled. "Knows where you live too, of course..." he sighed. He already missed her enough, with the short time he spent with her in the last week. "But if she's here, at least, she'll have you to protect her."

Tomoko blushed a little. "Well, you're tough too."

"I know, but I'm a busy guy. I can't bring her with me when I'm investigating, and I can't bring her to university. She has to spend too much time sitting silently watching nature documentaries as it is."

"It's true." She said simply.

"And I can't take her with me when I'm working on my thesis, at least not every day. Not if I have to watch her at the beach."

"I can breathe underwater!"

"She can?!" Tomoko asked.

"No you can't." Jotaro said.

"I could! If I just sent my lungs up to the top of the water-"

"No. We are not trying that."

"What about my head?"

"Jolyne." He said, and the girl closed her mouth, huffing. "Look, if she stays here, she'll be under protection all hours of the day. I'll still come over every day to check on her, and I'll pay the same-"

"Oh no you don't!" Tomoko said. "I'm okay if you're paying Josuke to babysit, but you're asking me to take care of your daughter. I'm not so heartless as to make you go broke just so your daughter will feel safe!"

"It'd be Joseph's money anyway. The geezer is rich as hell."

"Oh." Tomoko said quietly.

Jolyne nodded. "I get the best Christmas presents."

"Still... I won't say no to speaking to Joseph a bit..."

"Well, he doesn't really know."

"You steal from him?"

"Nah, it's just he basically puts everything either on my expense, or it's put on the Speedwagon Foundation's. As an organization trying to protect the world, and being founded by a family friend of the Joestar family, they pretty much help us in anything relating to Stands, even peripherally like this."

"I... see..."

Jotaro grinned. "Honestly, if you were a more crooked woman, you and Josuke would have been swimming in more money in child support than you could believe. And it's not like he'd miss it."

"Fine. Fine." Tomoko said. "Forget the money conversation for now, we'll discuss it later. But I can't watch Jolyne all the time either."

"You... can't?"

"I have a job too! I'm a teacher at Morioh Elementary! Sure, it's shorter hours than a lot of other jobs, but still."

"But you've been at home any time I talked to you. I figured you were a homemaker..."

"Then where did you think we got our money?"

"...Your dad?"

"He did help a bit, but no. The reason I've been at home is... well, he did only die a short time ago. I was taking care of his affairs. I've been having a substitute cover me, but I should be getting back to work within the week."

"Oh..." Josuke muttered. "Crap. And you can't bring her with you?"

"Not any more than you can bring her with you."

"...That means, soon, Jolyne'll be unprotected."

"So? I can fight him! I can protect myself."

"No. Not alone." Jotaro ordered. "I mean it Jolyne. Don't ever fight another Stand User alone. If you get trapped, run, and try to find an ally. I'm not letting you get killed over this." He sighed. "I should send her to New York."

"No! I'll-" Jolyne protested.

"You'd never be able to train a dolphin to swim you all the way back here." Jotaro deadpanned. "Got it?"

Tomoko looked between the two of them. "Are you looking for Chili Pepper?"

"Yeah, but he's pretty good. I've got his name, but his old house was empty, he's stopped attending school, he quit his job, and no hotel I've called will admit to having a Otoishi Akira in residence. Hell, after I called him, he probably signed under a false name. For all I know, he could be sitting in a cave somewhere, having his Stand steal food for him."

"Well, hopefully, if you can find him within a few days, there won't be a problem at all. I'll definitely accept Jolyne here." she smiled down at the little girl, "She's been a joy to have."

"Wait!" Jolyne shouted.

"Hm?"

"You don't have to send me to New York!"

"Why not?" Jotaro asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Keicho." Jolyne said proudly. When no one seemed to get it, she sighed dramatically. "What does Keicho do for a living?"

"He..." Jotaro frowned. "...doesn't do anything, the two of them have been living off their savings. Which is a hefty amount, considering their dad worked for Dio."

"He can watch me while Tomoko and Josuke are at school."

"I don't trust him to know how to take care of a little girl." Tomoko said sourly.

"He doesn't have to take care of me, I can do that."

"She's very self-sufficient." Jotaro said, a little proud.

"He just has to make sure I don't have to fight Red Hot Chili Peppers alone."

Tomoko looked at Jotaro nervously. He looked back, before bending down to look Jolyne in the eye. "You... really want to stay here?"

"Yes."

"Enough you'll stay with-"

"-the asshole? Yeah. He won't mess with me. If he does, I can just wrap him up again."

"Well... I don't have a problem with it."

"You don't?!" Tomoko asked, surprised.

"Heh... Stand Users have a tendency to realize when they've been beaten. He won't risk our wrath. And, if I'm being honest... your Stand is the best hard counter against Bad Company, if he tries to betray us. But Jolyne's Stone Free is the next best."

"I can find them with my hearing, and catch them with my string, without ever having to see them."

"I'll bring it up to him when I interrogate him."

"Daddy's going to hit him with a pump." she helpfully informed Tomoko.

"...Eh, close enough."

* * *

Keicho glared at Jotaro, leaning back where he sat. "I'm considering that maybe we should just leave Morioh altogether."

Jotaro glared right back. "How many Stand Users did you create?"

"..." Keicho frowned, looking out the window. "I already told you too much. Red Hot Chili Peppers has made me a target, now. For all I know, he could be watching right now. I'm not sure that I can beat him. I'm not sure you can beat him."

"What does he do that's so terrifying?" Jotaro asked, unimpressed.

"I didn't realize it when I first made him a Stand User, but his ability is possibly the most dangerous in Morioh. Red Hot Chili Peppers can go anywhere, be anywhere. It's a long-range Stand able to travel through anything using electricity, that can control any electronic, and, with enough power, has the same level of brute strength you or Josuke have."

"That's... a problem."

"That's putting it lightly."

"What about the other Stand Users?"

Keicho considered it. Turning an eye towards the light bulb, he said out loud; "Akira, I'm giving you a chance, I don't wanna be involved in this war between you and the Joestars. If you appear, right now, and tell me my bro and I will be safe if we don't say anything, if you protect me from Jotaro, I won't tell him anything else. You'll have me and Okuyasu out of your hair."

Jotaro grimaced, summoning Star Platinum as a precaution as Red Hot Chili Peppers materialized. "Hey Keicho. You mean it?"

"If you can promise me you'll protect me." Keicho repeated, backing away from Jotaro.

The glowing figure turned on Keicho, grinning evilly, "It's funny... you should have thought about that before telling Jotaro everything about me. What do I care if you rat out the other useless Stand Users in Morioh town?"

Keicho began to sweat. "Is... is that it, then? You want me to be your enemy?"

"Hah! As if you're a threat." Looking towards Jotaro, with Star Platinum floating above him menacingly, RHCP smiled broadly, a disturbing image with its beak-like mouth, "Mister Kujo here, however, he's actually dangerous!" His tail swished back and forth, meeting Jotaro's glare. "I bet you're wondering why I'm willing to confront you like this?"

"I've been giving it some thought." Jotaro responded casually.

"I'm not, right now. I want some more time to psych myself up. You see, the reason I'm not afraid of you, is because right now Jolyne Kujo is watching TV."

Jotaro felt a chill go down his back. "Now, what I'm wondering is, how fast is your reaction time? I've heard you can only stop time for a few seconds, and that's deadly as fuck, I appreciate that. During those few seconds, I'm utterly helpless... but really, you're all the way on that end of the room, and I'm here on this end. How many seconds would it take you to move that distance? Not long, but it'll take up some time... and I'm pretty durable. Even taking a Star Platinum punch or two won't kill me. Finally, the moment I think you're about to attack me, I'll be in front of Jolyne at the speed of light." RHCP narrowed his eyes "So... are you going to risk it, or do I have to kill your daughter?"

"Akira-" Keicho began.

"Shut it! I don't give a damn about you anymore, like your toy soldiers have anything to do in the battle between Stands of our caliber!"

"If Jotaro tries to kill me-"

"Yes, yes, I'd let him. Now shut up." Akira waved him off. "So, Jotaro. I'm gonna be generous. You leave Morioh, right now. You take whoever you want with you, get them all out of town, Josuke, Tomoko, your kid, whatever, and leave. I don't have to bother you, and you don't have to bother me. It's not a bad deal, right? I'm not a serial killer, or want to take over the world or anything. I just don't want to have to follow the rules society puts on normal humans, when I'm not one anymore. Is that so wrong?"

"You threatened my daughter." Jotaro growled. "Of course I'm going to kill you."

"So there's no way you're leeeeeeaaving what just happened?!" Red Hot Chili Peppers shouted, the crackling energy around him fading as he looked up at the suddenly dark light bulb. "WHAT?!"

"ORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORA!" In less than an instant, Jotaro was there, and Star Platinum was pounding in RHCP's face. Bits and pieces of the Stand were coming off, cracking under the pressure of the sustained blows. "OOORAAA" the impact launched the Stand through a wall, not harming it the ghostly ripple simply passed through, but sending the Stand careening away from the house.

"Damn it!" Keicho growled. "If you kept him here, we could have finished this!"

"What did you do?" Jotaro asked.

"I have Bad Company spread through the house. I had my men physically cut the house off from Morioh's electric grid.

"But now that he's out of the house, he's probably already back at full strength from the electricity."

"Yeah."

"...Thanks." Jotaro said simply. "You wanted protection, right?"

"I don't think you'll be able to stop him if he really aims at killing me."

"We can at least try. Look, tell me about the other Stand Users in the town. I already said, I'm not taking you to the police. Prison wouldn't be a punishment for someone with Bad Company."

"...I shot thirteen people in Morioh."

Jotaro nodded. "And how many developed Stands?"

"Seven, that I know about." Keicho sighed, "I stuck around and had Bad Company observe each of them to analyze what type of Stand they had, if they didn't just die. Once it became obvious none of them had the power to kill my father, I then ignored them. Except for Akira, who noticed Bad Company and sought me out, wanting to learn more about Stand."

"Who are these seven?"

"You know Koichi and Akira."

"And Angelo the serial killer."

"That wasn't in Morioh."

"Continue. That's two down, what next?"

"Tamami Kobayashi. His Stand lets him weaponize other people's guilt, and manipulate them."

* * *

Koichi stared helplessly at the dying twitches of whatever was in the bag he just ran over. "That's a real shame, what happened there." Tamami said, hiding an evil grin, "Real shame."

* * *

"Then were two students at the high school. A girl and a guy, both kinda nuts. One Yukako Yamagishi, and one Toshikazu Hazamada." Keicho continued.

* * *

Yukako walked down the street, her hair flowing beautifully behind her. When Monday came, she would make her move! She would finally confess to him, or close enough. She would invite him to eat next week, and then they would begin dating, and eventually they would go to college together, and then they'll get married, and have as many kids as they could stand.

She grinned happily, a little bit of skip to her step as her hair whipped out, tripping a man who had been looking in her direction for a little bit longer than she cared for. She would be taken quite soon, and she wouldn't have anyone looking at her body besides her darling Koichi!

* * *

"C'mon Surface, don't be like this!" Hazamada muttered, sitting in a tree with a pair of binoculars.

The Stand shrugged, and the boy in the window across from them mimicked the movement without noticing "Hey, you try grabbing something without ever having fingers before!"

"You didn't exist before a few weeks ago!" Hazamada growled. "Now pick up the pencil! Look, he's already got it in his hand, you just have to- gah! You dropped it again!"

* * *

"That's five. Who are the last two?"

"The mangaka Kishibe Rohan,"

* * *

Rohan walked down the street, bending down to smell some flowers. The woman tending to her garden smiled. "Do you like them? I'm very proud of-" he plucked one from the dirt, yanking it up, roots and all. "-Hey!"

"What type of flower is this?" He asked, curious.

"How dare you rip flowers right out of my garden, I have half a mind to call the police, you know!"

The author sighed, "Heaven's Door!" He shouted, and the woman's face opened up like a book before she could panic, he simply wrote 'hold still' on the page. "Hmm, so it's the Gebera Daisy." He nibbled a bit on the petals, before dropping it back into the garden. "How dull. The color was a bit interesting, but in the end it's just a daisy. Oh!" he stopped himself before he walked too far away, taking out his pen with a flourish. Continuing from the words 'hold still' he continued 'until Kishibe Rohan walks out of sight, and then forget about the incident with him and the daisies.'

Putting his pen back in his pocket, he closed her book-like face, and it was suddenly back to normal. He walked away. Before he was out of earshot, he heard a sudden shout of "My daisy!"

* * *

"and a business woman, Hideki Yasu." Keicho frowned "But I had to kill her when she proved troublesome. Her Stand revolved around detecting hidden objects, and she immediately went after my Bad Company. I killed her in a way that should have been undetectable. "

Jotaro grimaced, but nodded. "Thank you, for the information."

"I just hope you can beat Akira." The eighteen year old said.

"Now, you've proved your worth tonight, nearly beating Red Hot Chili Peppers. I think I can trust you. And this is how you can help me. I want you to guard Jolyne while Tomoko is at work."

"Wh-" Keicho blinked, "why me?!"

"I can't leave her to fight Red Hot alone. Josuke and Okuyasu have school, Tomoko has her own work, I have work." He shrugged. "You're wearing a uniform, but I've checked, and you didn't sign yourself up for high school here."

"I was going to try and figure out what I want to do..."

"Will you watch her?"

"I don't exactly have a choice in the matter, do I? If I say no, you can just threaten me into saying yes... besides, Jolyne actually has a power better suited to fighting Chili Peppers. If anything, I'll be needing her protection."

"Good."

* * *

Tamami sat in the room, staring down Koichi. His mother was staring at him, horrified at his apparent theft, his sister looked worried. Koichi could see the locks, but there wasn't anything he could do about them for now.

Never before in his life had he felt this enraged. When he had seen Josuke in a fit, when someone foolishly criticized his hair, Koichi was frightened by the look in Josuke's eyes. Blind to everything, blind to consequences, blind to morals, blind to the situation.

Koichi, for the first time in his life since he was a baby, had what might be called "Fighting Spirit", or rather, "a desire to fight"!

The egg that Keicho had brutally gifted to him appeared in the air behind him, floating and glowing menacingly. "I'm not going to forgive you." He stated.

"The hell is that egg-shaped thing?" Tamami grinned stupidly, sure of himself and his victory. As the egg began shuddering, Tamami took a step back, staring as the shell shattered, and a bizarre tadpole-like creature fell out onto the ground. The thing's eyes were weird, but he got the distinct feeling it was glaring at him. "That thing just came out of the egg! Shit looks like a larvae or something! Is that your 'stand'?"

"What?" Koichi's mom asked, looking back and forth between the two of them, utterly confused at the situation. She couldn't see the lock on her own breast, or Koichi's newly-evolved Stand.

Koichi frowned, grabbing both his mom's and sister's hands and leading them out of the room. "Mom, Sis, just leave us alone for a moment."

"Is- Is this about the money, Koichi?" his mom asked, the lock on her chest growing in weight at the mention of what was making her feel guilty.

"Just let me sort this out." He closed the door on them, before turning back towards Tamami. "This is the first time I've seen my Stand either, you know. But Josuke told me how it works..." the Stand shot forward, coiling around Tamami's neck and raising its fist to attack him.

"H-Hey! If you beat me up, their guilt is just gonna get worse, you know!"

"Take off the locks." Koichi threatened.

Tamami grinned. "I can take a beating, I showed you and your punk friends that earlier today! The only thing that matters is money! If it means I get a bigger payoff, I'm okay with you beating me up!"

Koichi narrowed his eyes, considering it. "What if I killed you?"

Tamami's grin disappeared. "You wouldn't." Koichi frowned, but his Stand's tail coiled a little tighter. He considered it for a few moments, before a lock appeared on his chest, as well as on his Stand. The green creature dropped from the weight, releasing Tamami, who couldn't believe his luck. "Hah! You really wouldn't! Look how guilty you are!" He smiled evilly, rubbing his fingers together. "Tell you what, if you be my work for me every day for the rest of your life, I'll get rid of that weight, hm? Maybe we can use your lizard for something useful, and you'll work for paying me back for you trying to kill me, eh?"

"Sh-Shut up!" Koichi growled, the tail of his Stand whipping out to slap at Tamami's face with a resounding _THWAP._ Both Stand users expected the impact to do a lot more damage, but it didn't even leave a bruise.

"Hahah! You're so weak!"

Koichi stared at his Stand, feeling almost betrayed. He knew it was only an extension of himself, and that the arrow nearly killing him was a sign he wasn't strong enough to have a Stand. It wasn't an egg any more, but perhaps it was still just a dud, compared to abilities like the others.

The lock grew heavier, and he began to cough as the weight pressed down on him.

"Hehehe..." _thwap_ "...huh?" _thwap_. "What the hell was that?" Tamami looked over his shoulder, looking for the source of the sound, _thwap!_

Koichi looked at the sound effect character for 'thwap' seemingly tatooed on Tamami's face where his Stand had hit him. "Huh? Could this be... my Stand?"

"You're doing this?!" _thwap **thwap Thwap.**_

The sounds were getting louder and faster with each second that passed. The lock didn't disappear, but he managed to get to his feet. His Stand floated forwards, and _slapped_ and **smacked** Tamami.

 _ **THWAPslapTHWAPsmackTHWAPTHWAPslapTHWAPTHWAPsmackTHWAPTHWAPTHWAPSlapSlap~!**_

"Make it stop!" Tamami shrieked.

"My Stand can paste sounds to things..." Koichi said, amazed, "it reminds me of a haiku I read... 'In lovely silence, a single cicada's cry, sinking into stone'."

"Grrr... I'll show you how dangerous my Lock is!" Tamami growled, rushing over to a shelf and pulling out a knife. Koichi was surprised for a second, and the weight of his own Lock sent him sprawling to the floor in his distraction, his Stand following suit, accidently smashing the window nearby him as it came down. His eyes widened as he saw Tamami turn the knife towards his own chest. Thinking quickly, Koichi through the sound of the window smashing at the door his mom and sister were behind. Before Tamami could stab himself and scream out, the door opened. "...Shit."

"K-Koichi!?" his mom shouted, staring at the man her son called a conman, holding a knife, standing over her son, looking pained, lying on the ground, broken glass surrounding him. Her lock promptly vanished as she turned towards Tamami, eyes angry and wild. "L-Look! I don't know about this money thing, but if you don't leave, right now, I'm calling the police! You hear me!?"

Koichi grinned slightly at the change in luck, and promptly tripped Tamami as he took a step forward to try and explain himself. He considered for a moment just letting the man fall on the knife, but the thought's brief existence increased the weight of the lock noticeably. His Stand shot out, knocking the knife away before Tamami hit the ground with a _bonk_.

 _ **THWAPTHWAPTHWAPbonkSLAPSMACKSLAPTHWAPSLAPSMACKbonkSLAPTHWAPTHWAPSMACKTHWAPSMACKSMACKSLAPBonk~!**_

"Aggghhh!" Tamami shouted, as the new sound was added to the cacophony already surrounding him. The man turned towards Koichi, furious, gripping the sides of his head. "Damn you!"

"I'll call the cops!" Koichi's mom insisted again. "You stay away from him!" Koichi grinned weakly at the sight of his shocked sister's lock disappeared as well.

"Damn it!" Tamami roared, furious. He looked between them, the lock on Koichi the only one still in place. "Y-you... how dare you make your family have to see something like this!"

"What?" Koichi asked, honestly surprised.

"Look how scared you've made them! If you had just given me the money, it wouldn't have come to this!"

The lock increased in weight, and Koichi found it even harder to breathe. He could feel the pressure increasing on his chest, even as the lock that was only visible to himself and Tamami grew even larger. "Remove the lock!" Koichi growled.

"The lock?" His sister asked.

"He... Did something to my chest, I can't breathe." He managed. The weight increased slightly with the lie, but he refused to drag his sister into the world of Stand Users any more than she already was.

His mom looked conflicted, before rushing into the kitchen and dialing the phone. "No! Don't call the police!" Tamami said, unaware he was shouting harshly, unable to hear his own voice over the sounds Koichi stuck to him. Koichi made eye contact with Tamami, coughing, and having his Stand grab each cough and toss it towards Tamami, sticking even more sounds to him. The man collapsed in place, futilely trying to cover his ears, but the sound was a Stand's strange psychic sound, one that can't be heard by non-users, a sound that can't be held back by mere matter.

"Hey." Koichi said quietly, "Get rid of the lock, and I get rid of the sounds."

"N...nggh... I... want my money." Tamami said stubbornly. Koichi began tapping the floor quickly, sending each sound at Tamami and making the man wince. "Y-you tell your mom to not call the police!" He shouted.

"Get rid of the lock."

"...Fine!" the lock disappeared, and Koichi got to his feet, making a show of stumbling and continuing to cough for the sake of his family. "Now get rid of it!"

Koichi raised an eyebrow. "Why should I? You were going to take five hundred thousand yen, right?"

"L-look! What I said before about the money, forget it!" Tamami managed.

"What was it you said earlier... about being a loyal servant?" before they could continue, Koichi's sister Ayana rushed to his side, quickly lifting his shirt to look at the bruise that the Lock had made.

"Oh Koichi!" she said, disturbed, half-carrying him away from Tamami, rushing to the kitchen where his mom was hidden in the kitchen. Tamami got up to follow, still begging for the noise to stop, when Koichi took pity and had his Stand erase the sounds from the conman. Ayana and Koichi's mother then tugged him into her room nearby locking the door behind them. Mrs. Hirose began to cry, distraught over all that happened.

"What did he do to you? Why did you want to speak to him alone?" Ayana asked.

Koichi considered it for a moment, deciding to tell as much truth as possible.

"He's a conman." Koichi began,"I ran into him earlier today, not directly into him with my bike, like he said, that was a lie!" He clarified to his mother, "he had put a toy cat and some fake blood in a bag, and put it in the middle of the road, right by the corner, I didn't see it and ran it over accidently. So he comes up to me and starts trying to make me feel guilty enough to pay him back for 'killing his cat'. I was feeling sorry for the poor cat, so I got out my wallet, when Josuke and Okuyasu saved me. Josuke showed me the cat was just a toy, but then the conman tried to guilt them into paying him by making it look like they had knocked one of his teeth out, but it was a trick again, and Josuke saw it.

"In the confusion, he had taken my wallet, we thought that he was giving it back in the end, but really he just handed me my empty wallet back... I guess he thought I was an easy target, or wanted revenge or something..." Koichi sighed, before looking to Ayana, "when you were bringing him tea, he admitted that he knocked your foot, so you would get it on him and he could hold it over your head. He was going to try and blackmail us, but when I confronted him, he punched me in the chest so hard I hit the window..."

"Oh Koichi!" His mom cried, hugging him close. "Don't worry, the police will be sure to catch him."

Koichi nodded, feeling a little better for himself. Sure, his family got scared, and he lost two thousand yen to Tamami, but he also unlocked his Stand. Ultimately, today was a good day. In the future, with his Stand, the newly named Echoes, at his side, he would be able to help protect Morioh with Josuke.

The sounds of police sirens suddenly made themselves known, and Koichi brought out Echoes once more, sending it through the floorboards to look for Tamami. The conman was huddling in the corner of the room, shaking out of his wits. Refusing to feel guilty, he sent Echoes forward.

Tamami, upon noticing Echoes shot up and preemptively covered his ears.

"Don't worry." Koichi said using Echoes' mouth. "I know that you can't keep a Stand User in prison. Sending you there wouldn't eliminate you as a problem, or make you pay for your crimes."

Tamami nodded enthusiastically. "Of course it wouldn't! But, I definitely want to reform, I feel real terrible about all this Koichi, no, SIR Koichi, if there's anything you could do..."

"I'll lead the police off, say something I can use, to lead them in the opposite direction... and after that, never come near my Mom or sister again, got it? Maybe change your hair so that no one will recognize you."

"You got it Sir Koichi!" he said, afraid of Echoes' power.

"Now say something I can use, they'll be coming in soon!"

"Uh, you'll never take me alive!" Tamami shouted. Echoes grabbed the words out of the air, and carried them to the opposite end of the house, before dropping it on the ground. As the police entered the building, Echoes silently lead Tamami out of the house. While the police searched for the source of the voice, the conman made his getaway, followed by Echoes. "I... I owe you, Koichi. You really saved me, y'know? Anything I can do to pay you back, tell me and I'll get it done!"

"I'll hold you to that," Koichi said a little harshly, "after all, you need to pay for the window, and for my shoes, and I'll of course need reparations for the traumatic act you made my Mom and sister witness."

Tamami gulped, as Echoes grinned.

* * *

Jotaro called Koichi's house later that night, "Hey."

"Uh, this is Jotaro, right?" Koichi asked, "Oh! I have some big news, I figured out what my Stand can do, it can-"

"Not over the telephone, alright?"

"Oh, uh... okay."

"I'm happy for you though. I was using my Stand for almost two months before I figured out its ability." Jotaro said warmly, "now, I have something important to tell you. At your school are two Stand Users."

"Wh-What?!"

"Keicho just told me. A girl named Yukako Yamagishi, and a boy named Toshikazu Hazamada. There's also a man named Tamami who can-"

"Oh, I already met Tamami. I fought him, so did Josuke and Okuyasu."

"You... what? Why didn't you call?"

"I didn't get the chance during the fight, and... afterwards, I didn't think of it."

"Good grief... fine, but next time, call in for backup... I'm saying that now, but I'd actually like you to do me a favor. I want you, Okuyasu, and Josuke to look into Yamagishi and Hazamada. If they're threats, try and lead them to somewhere where I can catch them, and if they aren't, I want you to tell me anything you can find out about them."

"I... Alright. I'll do it. If these kids are dangerous, I can't just let them go."

"What did you do with Tamami?"

"I uh... let him go. But he respects me now, he knows what I can do with my Stand, Echoes."

"Hm. Alright, try and get him to meet with me, the more Stand Users on our side, and the less on Akira's, the better."

* * *

Notes: At the moment, no Tomoko/Jotaro is planned for the future, but who knows? She's seven years older, but they're both adults. I don't know yet. Tell me what you think of it.


	6. Love Deluxe and Surface

"So, do you know either of these guys?" Okuyasu asked, walking to school with Josuke and Koichi.

"Well, I recognize Yamagishi at least." Koichi said.

Okuyasu looked hopeful, "Yeah, you know her? Is she... is she cute?"

"She's... pretty cute." Koichi said, blushing, "probably the prettiest girl in my class."

"And a Stand User too. That's great." Josuke said, "It's strange, how us Stand Users tend to be nearby. Okuyasu, me, Koichi, and Yamagishi, all sharing the same class. And at least one other Stand User in the same school."

Koichi shrugged, "so do you know anything about this other guy, Hazamada?"

"Heh, I can help with that," The three highschoolers started, not noticing Tamami until he was right in front of them, "hey there Sir Koichi!"

"Oh, uh, hey Tamami."

Okuyasu and Josuke leaned in, bending down so their faces would be level with Koichi's, "Hey, Koichi, isn't this guy that troublemaker from Sunday?" Josuke stage-whispered.

"I can hear you, jerk." The conman growled, "here I am, helping you out of the goodness in my heart and my loyalty to Sit Koichi here, and you're suspecting me of fowl play."

Okuyasu glared at him, "How are you going to help us?"

"I dug up some information on a potential Stand User. That Toshikazu Hazamada guy. He's a messed-up character. Y'see, he had this friend, and they got into a fight, next thing you know, the kid he got in a fight with rips his own eye out with a mechanical pencil." All three teens winced at the image. "The victim has no idea why he did it. He said that one moment he was just working on his schoolwork, the next he was looking at the eye in his hand with the one still in his head."

Okuyasu outright shuddered, "that's pretty messed up. And you think this guy used his Stand to do that?"

"What, you think people go around absentmindedly tearing out their own eyes. Oh, whoops! Pulled out my eye with a pencil again, I sure gotta get rid of this bad habit!" Tamami muttered back sarcastically.

"Probably not a very stable character then." Josuke said. "Well, we'll have to be careful with him then."

"Thanks Tamami!" Koichi said as the three walked through the gates. "This is your first day attending, right Okuyasu?"

"Yeah." He said, staring at the building, "my bro was originally gonna attend too, he got uniforms for us and everything, but he decided he was gonna focus on rethinking life without the Arrow."

"Rethinking life without the Arrow?" Josuke asked.

"I don't really get it myself. I guess he's trying to be a good guy, cause' Jotaro is watching now."

"Hm." Koichi reached up and patted Okuyasu on the back, "well, let's get the day started. How are we going to contact Yamagishi and Toshikazu?"

"Simple, we leave them a message."

* * *

Yamagishi Yukako's heart skipped a beat when she found the small card fall out of her locker. A love letter! It had to be. Not that the occurrence was rare, exactly, but every time she saw one, the hope that it might be someone worth loving back who wrote it lit up inside her. Knowing that no one was looking at her, her hair darted down, grabbing the letter before it even hit the ground. She turned it over, and smiled triumphantly when she recognized the hand-writing.

Hirose Koichi was a boy who appeared on her radar only recently. She initially dismissed the boy out of hand, short, average-looking, and cowardly. But as of a few weeks ago that all changed. A quiet determination and courage began growing inside him, she could sense it. The boy was by no means a perfect boyfriend, barely even her type as he was, but he had potential. And for Yukako, that alone made him more exciting than an already-perfect boy. A good amount of the women in the school had eyes for Higishikata Josuke, who Yukako could sense had that same type of courage and fighting spirit. But Josuke was already set in his ways. If she were to cling to him like the other girls, there'd be nothing she could do to change him. With someone like Koichi, he was a person she could shape into something better.

She noticed that it was anonymous, and frowned. It was a good act, leaving a love-letter for her to see, and to set up a meeting place. But it was a little cowardly at the same time, not even leaving his name, simply telling her to meet up somewhere. It showed that Koichi seemed to think that she wouldn't bother meeting with him if she knew who he was. A lack of confidence, she supposed.

Grinning, she placed the card in a folder, and went off to her classes for the day. It was only after school was done for the day, that she would be expected to go up to the roof to meet with her 'secret' admirer.

* * *

Hazamada blushed a little, holding the card in his hand. "S-Someone wants to meet with me? Me?"

Surface materialized behind him, a transparent and intangible reflection of him, as he wasn't copying anybody, and didn't have a doll to apply the copy to, "You think it's a love letter?"

"Of course it's a love letter!" Hazamada growled, "D-Do you think it'll be Junko?"

"Are you dumb?" Surface asked, merely grinning smugly as Hazamada stabbed a pencil through the intangible body, waving it around to no effect on the Stand, "It says 'Come to the roof after classes, I believe we have something in common, and it's important to discuss it, signed, anonymous.' That could be anything."

"It's obviously a love-letter. Whoever wrote it thinks we're compatible!"

"They worded it weirdly."

"So?"

Surface's shit-eating grin grew even wider and smugger, "Besides... would you really want to date a person so horrible that they'd think they have something in common with you?"

Hazamada held back swearing, and applied Surface to a piece of paper, the paper folding into a doll before turning into a miniature version of himself. Hazamada grinned evilly, before crushing the tiny person his Stand had become, as easily as crumpling paper. He knew it didn't really hurt Surface, but it was darkly satisfying to him all the same.

Surface reappeared over his shoulder, sighing.

* * *

When Tomoko dropped her off here in the morning, she wasn't sure what to expect. Her main goal had been staying in Morioh, staying close to Josuke and Tomoko and the action, when she suggested Keicho watch her. She wasn't actually sure what she wanted to do with him. At first, he had guided her to a room with a little TV, and then sat on the opposite end of the room from her, going through newspapers.

About an hour in, she began to pester him with questions, and for her trouble she was then sitting alone in the room, a silent platoon of soldiers watching the room in place of Keicho in-person, who had gone to some other room to read quietly.

"This is worse than staying at the hotel." She muttered, getting up to turn the TV off. "Keicho!" She shouted. "I'm hungry!"

"Then get something from the fridge." One of the soldiers gruffly answered in his voice.

"Where's the fridge?" She asked. To her surprise, and amusement, five of the soldiers split off from the main group of the platoon, and with a strange bubbling sound, vanished to be replaced with a toy-sized military helicopter. The other eight soldiers piled in, and it took off with a whir.

"Follow it." the soldier barked, and she grinned as it lazily hovered through the house, leading her slowly down the stairs and into another room, that she recognized as the kitchen. She walked over to the fridge, reaching for the handle when she jumped in place, surprised when a soldier jumped from the top of the fridge, using a little parachute, to land on her head. "We don't have much." Keicho's voice said, coming out of the soldier on her head. She opened the fridge and frowned at the selection.

"I'm going to make toast." she decided. Pulling the bag of frozen bread out of the fridge, she dragged it over to the counter, only to realize that the top of the counter was well above her head. "Um..." she began, looking at the helicopter pleadingly. The helicopter came in closer, and a soldier lowered a hook with a sigh, dragging the bag of frozen bread through the air and setting it down on the counter. In another room, she heard Keicho getting up, moving a chair in the process. Smiling, she shouted "No! Don't, make the soldiers do it!"

One of the soldiers turned to her, "Why? It'd be easier if I just came in and put the thing in. They're barely taller than the goddamn toaster anyway."

"It's more fun this way!"

"It's troublesome is what it is." But he played along. The helicopter landed, and became five soldiers. Other members of Bad Company, who were already stationed in the kitchen, as there were soldiers in nearly every nook and cranny of the house, left where they were hidden to help in the effort. Jolyne watched, amused, as the soldiers managed to get the plastic thing holding the bag the bread was in tight off, and then made a group effort to push the bread out of the bag.

When one of them tripped, Jolyne began to giggle, prompting the entire group of soldiers to glare at her. "Why can't you make the damn toast?" Keicho demanded, beginning to get frustrated with the task.

"Because I shouldn't be allowed near something dangerous." She said. "Red Hot Chili Peppers could be in the toaster."

"Feh." Bad Company returned its attention to getting the bread out. Once the bag had been slid back enough, they forced the frozen slices apart with their rifles, and then carried it over to the toaster. "Done. I hope that was entertaining for you, brat."

"It was." She said, smiling. She then picked herself up with Stone Free, levitating to the right level with the counter easily, and pressed down the bar on the toaster, sending the bread down and beginning to toast them.

"You could have just floated up the whole time!?" Keicho asked angrily through a soldier, before he physically made his way into the room to glare at her. "What the hell was the point of making me go through that, when you could have gotten your Stand to do it!?"

"I told you. It's more fun this way." She stuck her tongue out at him, before floating off, Stone Free carrying her through the house back to the room Keicho had been sitting in. "What are you reading?"

"None of your business." the moody teen growled, grabbing the newspaper up before she could grab it herself.

"Fine." Jolyne said, setting herself down back on the ground in the reading room, before walking off and grabbing something off the small library. She frowned at the cover, before putting back the book on war history and looking for something more interesting. "How come all your books are boring?"

"They're not boring." Keicho responded.

"They're all about fighting."

"I thought you liked fighting."

"I like Stand fighting. Regular fights are automatically boring if they don't have a Stand."

"Nonsense." He set down the paper, pulling out another book from the shelf and pushing it into her hands. "These books contain the greatest events in human history! Battles that decided law, right and wrong, and the form of the future! And, most importantly, how those battles were won! Strategy, plans, leading opponents into your trap flawlessly!"

"Did they talk about the fight against the Pillar Men?"

"Pillar what?"

* * *

Yukako and Hazamada began walking to the stairwell after classes ended. She eyed him up and down, and then promptly dismissed his existence. Another girl would become worried that the long-haired older boy was the one waiting for her, but she recognized Koichi's presence in the paper.

Hazamada similarly looked her up and down, and began getting flustered. Was she the one who wrote the letter to him? Was she not saying anything in order to surprise him?

The two made their way to the roof, opening the door and seeing Koichi, Okuyasu, and Josuke waiting for them, sitting together on the pipe. Hazamada felt a stirring of ambition, recognizing them as Stand Users. This was an excellent chance, with Surface he could... but would Yukako notice? He didn't want to have to particularly kill her.

"Ah! Josuke, she's cute, Josuke, really cute!" Okuyasu whispered, excited.

"Oh, hello Koichi~!" Yukako said sweetly, smiling demurely at the shortest boy, "Could it be that you are my secret admirer?"

"S-Secret admirer?!" All four boys said simultaneously.

Hazamada turned towards Yukako, pulling out his own card. "Then you didn't send this to me?!"

"Of course not. Why would I give something like-" she recognized a similar letter, the same exact words, but not written by Koichi, "...what is the meaning of this?" She asked the group, coldly.

Josuke, Koichi, and Okuyasu got up as one, summoning their Stands. Both Hazamada and Yukako took a sudden step back, Yukako staring in utter surprise, while Hazamada gulped, remembering what he had been told by Red Hot Chili Peppers. All three at once were dangerous...

"Yo." Josuke greeted, waving his hand. "So, as you can see these three fellows, that means that what we've heard is true. You two are Stand Users, like us."

Hazamada looked at Yukako, who was transfixed on Echoes, unable to tear her eyes away from the lizard-like Stand, "You have a Stand too, Yukako?"

She didn't answer, but a smile grew on her lips. "Oh, Koichi! I knew there was something special about you!"

"Sp-special about me?" Koichi asked surprised.

"Hey, we're special too." Okuyasu said quietly, a little bit sad.

"I knew it, something changed in you recently, a quiet determination, it's made you very cool, you know." She walked forwards fearlessly, grinning at Koichi. "Koichi, I was going to wait until next week, but thanks to your letter, I agree with you! We do have something in common, and we should discuss it. Would you join me at Cafe Magots on Saturday?"

"Uh... sure?" Koichi said, blushing a little. "I mean, yes, sure!"

"Josuke!" Okuyasu grabbed onto the other tall teen, "I'm jealous! I'm insanely jealous! What is it about that frog-like thing that's so much more special than the Hand, huh?"

Josuke laughed a little, comforting Okuyasu. "Who knows."

Yukako turned towards the two, "both of your 'abilities' are too complete. Koichi's got amazing 'potential'!"

Koichi blushed in earnest. "You really think so?"

"I know so! I can tell these things, it's instinct."

Josuke glanced toward Hazamada, who had remained quiet. "What about you? Why don't you bring out your Stand?" he asked casually.

"Yukako, you should get away from those three." Hazamada warned.

"I'm fine where I am, thank you."

"You don't know about them. I do."

"You know about us?" Okuyasu asked surprised, "I mean, my bro shot both of you, he's the one who gave you these powers, so I guess you might recognize me."

"I had thought that was just a dream..." Yukako asked, surprised.

Hazamada growled, "Get over here Yukako! Those three are dangerous. They're trying to pull you onto their side in the war!"

"The war?" she asked.

Koichi and Okuyasu looked just as confused, but Josuke took a step forward. "So, he's made contact with you then, Red Hot Chili Peppers?"

"That's right. And unlike you morons, I recognize the winning side when I see it." he pointed at Yukako, "if you're a Stand User, this is a good opportunity for you. Help me kill these three, and the most powerful Stand User in Morioh will be on your side. We'll be able to do anything we want, use our abilities for whatever we want, not giving a damn about society's rules or school or anything like that!"

Yukako looked between the Hazamada and the other three. "There's a war of these 'Stand Users' going on in Morioh?"

"Some bastard named Red Hot Chili Peppers stole the Bow and Arrow that gives people Stand Powers... usually people who get shot with it just die though, it's only the lucky ones that get a power out of the deal. Red Hot Chili Peppers started making threats after that, telling us to get out of town, or he'd kill our families." Josuke summarized. "We're not asking you to get involved, we're just trying to make sure you two aren't our Enemy."

Yukako looked at Koichi, filled with new admiration. "You've been fighting in a war?"

"No, not like a regular war. I've only been in two fights in my whole life! But both of them were with Stand Users."

Hazamada sighed. "Look, Red Hot Chili Peppers is the stronger Stand User, it's only a matter of time before he wipes out you guys. People like you make me sick, Higishikata Josuke." Hazamada announced, "People who get all the luck in life! It's guys like you, with looks, but no brains, who drag down people like me! With Red Hot Chili Peppers, Yukako, we can do whatever we want, standing above the normal idiots of society. But Josuke's group just wants to keep our powers hidden, and force us to stay within the bounds of society when we're better than regular humans! Doesn't having a special power want to make you live a little more successfully and dangerously?! What's wrong with that?!"

All four stared at Hazamada, a little shocked by his outburst.

Yukako recovered first, and placed her hand gently on Koichi's shoulder. "I don't care about being better than anyone else, or anything like that," she said with a shrug, "besides, I like Koichi. Why should I join you and some guy named after a fruit?"

Hazamada's expression turned dark. "Fine, then." He reached into his pocket, and Okuyasu reacted the fastest, the Hand jumping forward, ready to block whatever Hazamada pulled out. "Hey!" He shouted, jumping back, getting out of the Hand's range, holding up a small doll, "I just wanted to give her a gift!"

"I don't want your gift." Yukako said haughtily.

"Red Hot Chili Peppers gave me this. Sowed inside is a piece of paper with his contact information. I've been debating whether or not to call him and join him officially... and I'm not," he said, glaring at the boys, "I know that if I don't agree to stay neutral, you guys won't let me leave this roof alive. So I surrender." Okuyasu let out a breath of relief, the Hand retreating behind his User.

"That's great." Josuke said, "are you giving us the doll then?"

"I'm giving it to Yukako. I doubt you guys are going to kill her if she disagrees with you. Take Red Hot Chili Peppers number, let him talk to you." He set the doll down. "You may find yourself fighting on the opposite side as them."

With that, he turned around and opened the door to the stairwell, heading downstairs. Koichi smiled at Josuke, "well, at least he won't be fighting against us."

Yukako bent down and picked up the doll, only to drop it again with a shriek as it turned into a miniature version of her. "An Enemy Stand!" Josuke announced.

The doll landed on its feet, smiling demurely just as Yukako was earlier. "Hello, boys. My name is Surface." She walked forwards, and Yukako found herself mimicking the tinier counterpart's actions, walking in the opposite direction.

"Wh-What's going on!?"

"You really should have accepted Hazamada's offer, Yukako. I hate to harm a face as pretty as mine." Surface said, before starting to run. Yukako repeated the actions, to her horror, bringing her closer and closer to the edge of the roof. Surface then leaped, and Yukako did as well, taking her above the railing, and off the side.

"Yukako!" Koichi shouted, Echoes rushing out and grabbing onto the girl's hand, managing to catch her before she fell, but already sweating and shuddering with effort as his weak Stand tried to hold the entire weight of a human up in the air.

Yukako's hair spread and expanded in every direction like an explosion, darting out and forming tentacles, pulling her back over the railing and onto the roof. Koichi let out a breath of relief, before the hair wrapped around him and dragged him over to Yukako. "You saved my life!"

"Well, it was really you who saved your own life, I just kept you from falling for a second..."

"Nonsense!" She said, hugging him close. "You're my savior!" He turned beat-red, and then, turned purple as Yukako's hands, without her volition, began to strangle him. "Ah! Koichi!" She glared at the doll, her face morphing into a mask of utter rage at Surface for harming her potential boyfriend.

Okuyasu rushed over to the doll, the Hand shooting out and taking a swipe at the doll. Surface deftly dodged, and Yukako was forced to follow the action, slamming herself and Koichi into the wall of the stairwell. "I may not be strong like the Hand or Crazy Diamond, but my speed is more than enough to make up for it." Surface proclaimed proudly.

"Damn it!" Okuyasu growled, the Hand continuing it's swiping motions, carving grooves in the school's roof and kicking up dust as space was erased in each strike's wake. Sneering, the Hand made a circular motion in the air, carving away a good amount of space between him and Surface. The doll was dragged closer as the space between them was erased, Surface surprised.

Josuke reached over with Crazy Diamond, quickly healing both Yukako and Koichi, as well as forcefully separating them. "Damn that Hazamada. He should still be nearby, Stand Users usually have a fairly small range. Hey, Okuyasu, can you keep that doll occupied?"

"Sure thing Josuke!" Okuyasu said proudly.

Crazy Diamond lifted up Yukako with one arm, and punched through the door to the stairwell with the other, repairing it back to its former state as he stepped through it. Koichi rushed to jump through the hole after them before it re-sealed with Crazy Diamond's healing.

Surface cursed, and took off for the edge of the roof. Okuyasu ran after her, erasing space every few steps to quickly catch up with, then overcome the Stand-Doll. He grinned cockily as he stood at the edge of the balcony, the doll by his foot. "Sorry, Surface." He stomped down, before recoiling in horror at the sight of a tiny crushed Yukako. "Wait... what if that carried over to Yukako?" he asked himself, suddenly becoming worried, "Agh! I'm so stupid! Yukako! Josuke! Are you alright?!" he called as he started running towards the stairwell.

However, mid-step, his body froze, and then, without him willing it, turned around and began walking like a zombie back towards the edge. Looking down, afraid, he saw Surface get up, slightly crumpled and damaged, but still standing. And, most importantly, now a copy of him, rather than Yukako.

"Hey, dumby." Surface said to him in his own voice, "Nice going, turning your back on a bad guy."

"Oh crap..." Okuyasu murmured as he limped towards the ledge. "Agggh! Josuke! Koichi!" He shouted. The Hand appeared, trying to erase Surface, but the doll was outside the range, and was only getting farther away. He erased more arcs of space, trying to drag Surface closer to him, but the doll managed a burst of speed each time, only pushing Okuyasu closer to the edge. Luckily, those same swipes pulled him backwards, away from the edge, each time as well. The two had reached a kind of equilibrium, each desperately trying to alter the distance between them, and the distance between themselves and the ledge.

The floor of the school's roof was only getting more and more warped as space bent around it. He was running out of space to erase behind him, slowly 'sharpening' the roof, and bringing the edge closer as well. Okuyasu was sweating bullets. "GUYS! KOICHI! JOSUKE! PLEASE!"

* * *

Hazamada ran through the halls, searching for a telephone. He wasn't as familiar with the uppermost level of the school, and didn't know where to find one. Just one phone call to Red Hot Chili Peppers, and he'd have taken out four Enemy Stand Users! For all he knew, Surface might be able to take them all out on its own.

But before he found one, he heard the sound of running feet coming down the hall. He darted into a nearby room, trying to quiet his breathing. "Fan out!" he heard Josuke call, far too close to where he was hiding. "He's probably still in the school! Probably even on this level!"

"Don't give me orders." he heard Yukako snap back, so she was alive and moving of her own will. That means that for some reason, Surface had switched targets. Now, who was the third person. If it was Okuyasu, he might have a chance at hiding, but if it was Koichi- he stared in horror as Echoes passed through the far wall, nearly screeching to a halt. Echoes could just use its long range to search the entire floor in a minute. He was found out! Hazamada ripped the door open, running from the pursuing Echoes.

The lizard-like Stand however easily caught up to him, darting between his legs and tripping him. As he fell forward, his head hit the wooden floor with a strong **knock** sound.

 **Knock... knock... knock!.. Knock!. Knock! KNOCK! KNOCK!KNOCK!KNOCK!KNOCK~!**

He pushed his hands against his ears, trying to silence the cacophony of knocks Echoes had plastered across his face. "Ahhh!"

Koichi advanced on him, walking towards him determined. In a moment, Yukako appeared at his side, her hair beginning to grow and reach out towards him. Finally, Josuke appeared from a nearby room, grinning down at him darkly. "Call back Surface, you jerk."

"O-Or what?"

"Or I combine your face with a curtain, and we'll see how you like being a cloth doll."

He gulped.

* * *

On the roof, Okuyasu was perilously close to the edge. The Hand had stopped trying to pull him back with erased space, and was now physically holding him back from the edge. But now Surface was being cocky, picking up pieces of gravel or crushed rock, and throwing it at him at high-speed, distracting the Hand as its first instinct, if one could call the impulses of a psychic projection an 'instinct', was to reach out and protect its User from the ultimately harmless pebbles.

As another rock hit him dangerously close to his eye- he had a brief worried flashback to Tamami's story that morning- the Hand let him slide another few inches closer to the railing. Surface crept in even closer, a replication of Okuyasu's most savage grin plastered on its tiny face.

"Dammit." Okuyasu managed. "Guys! Come on, help me!"

"Let it in closer," came a familiar voice. Okuyasu blinked, looking around for his bro, relieved beyond words to hear the voice. But he couldn't see him, "down here." His eyes fell down to his school bag, still at his side, and the strange small soldier that just poked its head out of a pocket on his bag.

"B-Bad Company?!" Okuyasu shouted, surprised.

"Shush, idiot!" Keicho's voice growled from the small soldier. It pulled out a knife and a pistol. "I didn't send one with any bulky weapons, so you wouldn't notice him."

Okuyasu began to cry tears of joy, "Bro! You sent a Bad Company soldier with me?"

"...I couldn't send you into danger without any way to know what was happening, could I?"

"Bro..." Okuyasu grinned, letting go of his own body with the Hand. Once more, he was carried toward the edge, but also closer to Surface, who had been circling the roof, to find pebbles to throw. The doll-Stand quickly forced Okuyasu to change direction, aiming for another ledge, and also keeping the Hand out of range.

But not out of Bad Company's range.

The small soldier launched himself from the pocket and landed in a roll on the school roof. Surface stared in surprise at the sight of a competitor on equal, less-than-a-foot-tall footing, and allowed it to get close to him before reacting. The Bad Company soldier fired its pistol, blowing apart Surface's already-crumpled leg, and tossed its knife into the other leg.

Okuyasu whipped around, dashing away from the edge the moment his control over his legs returned to him. Within a few moments he was within range of Surface, and the Hand vindictively brought down his palm on the doll, erasing it, and about half a foot of the roof below it.

"Yeah!" Okuyasu shouted. "Nijimura brothers victory!"

The Bad Company soldier sighed as Okuyasu lifted it up and held it close to his chest, like a favored toy. Not that the sensation was unpleasant. "Yeah, Okuyasu. A Nijimura brothers victory."

* * *

Jolyne grinned at Keicho. Okuyasu's elder brother blushed slightly.

"You beat him?"

"Easily." Keicho said simply. "Surface was nothing. If the others hadn't left my fool of a brother to face it alone, they could have beat it just as simply. It can only control one person at a time, after all."

"Nice!" Jolyne complimented. "So, you sent a soldier with him? You love him after all."

"Be quiet." Keicho brushed off the insinuation, "I'm responsible for him after all. And it's not like I don't have soldiers to spare."

Jolyne looked back over the full army that filled the room of the old, falling-apart house. The lights had begun to flicker around noon, and both were feeling suspicious. Joylne had wanted to go to the park, where she thought there was less electricity, but Keicho refused to leave the house. "This is my fortress. If I can't beat Red Hot Chili Peppers here, I'm not going to beat him, period." He had said.

"So does that mean that the Enemy Stand User at the school was beaten?" she asked.

"Probably." Keicho said. He checked his watch, "I'll keep watching through the Bad Company I left with Okuyasu. He, Josuke, and Koichi won't be back for at least a half hour, regardless." He looked at Jolyne. "What was your Dad doing today, then, if he asked those three to confront the two Stand Users at school?"

"Daddy said he was going to check on the other guy, the mangaka."

"Kishibe Rohan?"

"Yeah! Him."

Keicho sighed, "Looks like everyone but us are having a pretty dangerous day."

"Tomoko's at her school, that's not dangerous!"

"Hm."

"So... what you're saying is, no one else can help you right now?" Red Hot Chili Peppers asked, appearing from a socket nearby. "That you're utterly helpless?"

Keicho and Jolyne stared in shock at the Stand, who had appeared silently in literally a moment. Before either could even begin to react, the golden dinosaur-like creature reached over and grabbed the back of Jolyne's shirt. He smirked evilly at Keicho, "Well, if that's the case... tell Jotaro that he'll get his daughter back once he's left Morioh, and that I'll be watching. And that goes for the Higishikatas, and you Nijimuras, too!" The Stand waited smugly for Keicho to fight back the surprise in order to respond, only to drop Jolyne as the lights flickered out once more, Bad Company once more disconnecting the power from the house. "The same damn trick, Nijimura?!" RHCP screamed.

Keicho managed a grin, "Well, if it worked once..."

"You don't have a time-stopper with you this time." RHCP said, reaching down to grab Jolyne once more, only to get a fistful of Stone Free instead. He was flung backwards by the impact, and he aimed himself at a window once more, hoping to escape back to the street and access the public power. However, as he went through the open window, he found himself bounced back into the room, and under fire from the army of Bad Company soldiers inside. Blocking the bullets with a fury of punches, he snarled at the mass of string that had filled the window, making the net that had caught and tossed him back into the room. "Fine! I don't need the power from the street, it's troublesome, but I was prepared!" the Stand reached under his crotch guard, pulling out a net marbles bag filled with batteries.

"Crap! Bad Company! Fire!" Keicho ordered, a hail of tiny bullets flying to destroy the batteries, but the Stand tossed the batteries down its throat and swallowed them. The dull bronze color its skin had suddenly became a glowing pure gold. It whizzed around the room incredibly fast, dodging gunfire from the soldiers.

Stone Free appeared, and Jolyne dived for him, screaming "ORAORAORAORAORA!" Stone Free's fists exploded in a flurry of punches that caught the golden Stand in the chest. The impacts had cracks forming, and sent the Stand crashing through the wall into the next room, but it got back up, laughing.

"Even a power-type Stand's punches can't hurt me when I'm charged up enough!" RHCP bragged. He shot forward, almost faster than either could react to, and he made to punch Stone Free in the face. Before his fist connected though, the blue Stand unfurled into a mass of string. Jolyne began to growl with effort as string erupted from the floorboards and ceiling, wrapping through the windows and around support beams, creating a great mess of string, with RHCP stuck in the center.

"Demolitions Squad!" Keicho barked, and a group of soldiers rushed forwards, easily navigating the gaps in the string with their smaller size. RHCP glared down at the soldiers as they threw grenades and fired miniature rockets at him. With a flurry of his own punches, that group of Bad Company was no more.

"Is that really the best you've got?" Red Hot Chili Peppers taunted.

Keicho grinned. "No, no it isn't." He then took a step to the side, revealing the single-file line of tanks that had been positioning themselves quietly behind him.

Before RHCP could dodge, the wild mess of strings suddenly pulled taut, trapping each limb specifically and even wrapping threads around his neck.

"Fire!" Keicho ordered, and the tanks shot off as one, the shells, nearly the size of normal bullets, and much faster, all impacted the same general spot on RHCP's belly, punching through to the other side.

"G-Gah!" Red Hot Chili Peppers gagged, staring in horror as his power began to flow away, the hole in his belly leaking not blood, for Stands had none, but the innards of the batteries he had swallowed. "Y-You were aiming for my power source!?"

"Well of course." Keicho grinned. "That's just strategy."

Jolyne glared at RHCP, forming just the arm of Stone Free, removing only some of the threads holding the electricity Stand in place. "ORA!" She cried, "Eat this, you asshole!"

"Damn." The fist knocked into skull, leaving an indent and sending the Stand seemingly out cold.

"I did it!" Jolyne proclaimed, proud. "I can stay in Morioh!" She shouted, ecstatic. "Dad's going to be so happy-"

"Well, I doubt that." Keicho murmured.

"-we can stay, and we'll get back the arrow, and I can go to school!"

"Is that what you've been fighting for?" Keicho asked, amused.

"I've never been to school before." Jolyne said, suddenly shy. "Josuke and Koichi always talk about it, and it sounds fun."

"Heh." Keicho walked over to the fallen form of Red Hot Chili Peppers, nudging it with his foot. Unsurprisingly, it passed harmlessly through the Stand, his physical foot unable to harm the Stand. "Not so terrifying after all, were you Peppers? This is the second time you've fallen inside the Nijimura house. Maybe this place is just bad luck for you."

"..." the Stand coughed, color fading by the second, "or... maybe it's bad luck for you." It lashed out, grabbing Keicho's foot and swinging him towards the open window, now empty of Jolyne's string.

"Keicho!" She cried, Stone Free forming in full, extending its arms to grab onto the man's shoulders before he could tumble outside. Red Hot Chili Peppers forced itself into the air, speeding quickly outside the room. "No!" She wanted to grab for him, but Keicho had not yet climbed back inside.

RHCP floated down the steps, and towards the front door, when Father Nijimura walked past, eyes fixed on the glowing Stand. "Uh..." Peppers began, before the mutated man tackled him. The man had also been a Stand User, once, after all. RHCP kicked free with some more trouble, but now had so little power left the best he could do was limp back to the street.

He reached a lamp post on the corner with a sigh of relief, zapping inside, and replenishing his energy, healing his wounds. "That house... is bad luck. The next time we fight, Kujos, Higishikatas, Nijimuras, I'm choosing the terrain!"

* * *

Okuyasu had placed the Bad Company soldier, which had gone silent as soon as Okuyasu was out of danger, proudly on his shoulder. The soldier seemed to stay in place, automatically holding onto the cloth of his uniform in order to not fall. "My bro saved me." He repeated to the group, "You shoulda' seen our teamwork!"

"Good on him, and you Okuyasu." Josuke praised, patting his friend on the other shoulder. "You beat a Stand User, today."

"Oh yeah! I lost to you, when we fought." He grinned. "Good thing, too. Seeing the way this has all turned out."

Yukako held Hazamada in the air upside-down, wrapped in her hair. Koichi glared at Hazamada, Echoes hovering around him, trying to be intimidating. "So... you didn't call back Surface when we told you to."

"I-I couldn't! Surface doesn't come back until the doll he's attached to is destroyed!"

"You tried to kill me." Yukako snarled. She looked to Koichi, "Should we toss him off the edge of the school, like he tried to do to me and Okuyasu?"

"N-No! We don't execute people. We didn't kill Okuyasu's brother, after all."

"I didn't even kill Angelo." Josuke said, looking back at the group.

"I thought this was a war?" Yukako asked, surprised.

"Yeah. Between people who just want to live decently, and protect their town, and people who want to run rampant, who don't protect anything." He looked her in the eyes. "And we don't kill. Okay? Let's give him the chance to redeem himself. Koichi got Tamami to make himself useful, right?"

"Yeah..."

The girl shrugged, dropping Hazamada unceremoniously. "It's up to you I suppose. I'm not about to get blood on my hands regardless, not if my dear Koichi doesn't want it."

"D-Dear seems to be going a little fast, isn't it?"

"But you will go out with me, won't you?"

"I mean, yes, I already agreed to, so I will-"

"So you want to be my boyfriend?"

"I... yes?" he answered, beginning to get nervous.

"Then why can't I call my little Koichi 'Dear'?"

Josuke felt a little bit of pity for Koichi, while Okuyasu went back to pitying himself, jealous at Koichi's seeming sudden popularity.

Josuke and Okuyasu summoned their Stands, grabbing Hazamada and setting him on his feet. "Come on, let's call Jotaro and tell him the good news."

"...Call him?" Hazamada asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"Could I make a call too?"

"Who to?" Koichi asked, suspicious.

Hazamada looked at the floor miserably. "If you guys are going to kidnap me or something, I want to at least tell my Mom I'll be okay so she won't worry."

Okuyasu gasped, finding it heartwarming, "there's hope for this guy!" he proclaimed, slapping Hazamada on the back.

The group of students made their way over to a pay phone, Josuke dialing in Jotaro's cell number. "Hmm..." he said, after waiting for about a minute. "Looks like he's busy or something. I'll call him back later. We can bring this guy to Keicho and Jolyne." He nodded for Hazamada to move forward, and the boy gave a grateful look at Josuke, dialing in a number.

"Hey, you said to call you if I was ever in trouble with something, and I needed to stay somewhere else for a few days... yeah, I am... about four meters."

"Four meters?" Okuyasu repeated, confused. Before he could ask for clarification, Red Hot Chili Peppers erupted from the phone, grabbing onto Hazamada's shoulders.

"Brace yourself." The Stand said, wincing as he moved his stomach wound.

"G-Got it."

"You tricked us!" Okuyasu shouted, the Hand appearing and erasing space, teleporting himself inside the phone booth, ready to punch out both Enemies, but in the time it took for him to pull back his arm in preparation, both had already disappeared, shooting into the phone once more. Hazamada and RHCP, simply there one moment and gone the next.

Koichi groaned in disappointment, "All that, and he gets away?!"

"Damn it!" Okuyasu shouted to the sky.

Yukako was still trying to process what just happened.

Josuke frowned. "Well, that's just great."

* * *

Notes: Tomoko/Jotaro is off the plate, don't worry, that won't be happening in this fic at least. What I think was the final nail in that ship's coffin was samandmax95's comment "don't make the Joestar family tree even more tangled".

I've gotten a few reviews from different people saying that the way the characters speak is off, sometimes out of character, or just speaking strangely. I think there are two main sources for that; first, I haven't watched the Part 4 anime. I'm waiting til it's complete so that I can marathon it from start to finish. I think that a lot of people who read this story are people who are currently following the part 4 anime. As such, I haven't heard Josuke's voice, and I don't know what kind of language he uses in the subs. My main (only) source for how the characters talk is the manga, which of course will have translation issues and the like.

Phant0mz0ne said that they thought Josuke is rougher and less kind than in canon, swearing too frequently, etc. And I absolutely agree. I tried to tone that down a bit this chapter. Josuke is a kind guy who hides it behind a sometimes-tough exterior. As for him saying 'fuck' a lot, in scan of the manga, he shouted "Don't fucking touch me!" at Angelo, and that kind of stuck with me.

(Insert obligatory "let Josuke say fuck" joke.)

Thanks for the reviews guys! I'm enjoying writing this, and I'm glad to see others are as well.

Another question for the readers; after RHCP's arc and Kira's two arcs are over and done, I'm considering having some other characters from Part Six appear for a final arc. What are your opinions of Pucchi interfering in a young Jolyne's life?


	7. Heaven's Door and Pearl Jam

The house was closer to the edge of town. Jotaro walked up to the door, and knocked on it a few times.

"Hm? Who are you?" the door opened to reveal a rather tall man with a swiped-back hairstyle and a green headband.

"My name is Kujo Jotaro," he answered "I'd like to speak with you."

"Why? Who do you work for?"

"If you must know, I'm an affiliate of the Speedwagon Foundation." Jotaro took a step forward. "I believe the two of us have something in common we should discuss."

Rohan smirked slightly, before pulling out a pen, "Heaven's Door!" He shouted, drawing his Stand in the air, the pen leaving glowing yellow lines.

As the Stand began to take shape, Jotaro sighed. "Star Platinum! THE WORLD!" the mangaka froze in place, like everything else, his pen unable to make the final line connection. "Yare yare daze... attacking me right out of the door?" He didn't bother hitting him with Star Platinum, and simply took the pen from Rohan's hand, crushing it in his fist and tossing the fragments to the side. The bits moved with the momentum, before slowing to a halt just like everything in the still world.

"Three seconds." Jotaro muttered, giving the mangaka a slight push, so that when time resumed, he would crash down onto his face. Jotaro took a step into the man's house, before allowing time to resume. He smirked a little at Rohan's surprised yelp as he hit the floor, and was satisfied as the pen fragments shot out like bullets, burying themselves across Rohan's yard. "Get in here." Jotaro ordered, Star Platinum hovering over his shoulder, giving an intimidating glare towards the artist.

"Wh-What just happened?!" Rohan demanded, before catching sight of the creature floating over Jotaro. "Amazing... amazing! That creature, it's like Heaven's Door, isn't it?"

Jotaro turned around, to meet the artist's eyes, but froze in place as he saw the Stand. Paralysis began to grip at his body, and he felt the bizarre sensation of opening, his skin peeling off bloodlessly, like a book cover, to reveal pages underneath. "What the-"

"So, you can see it? My Heaven's Door? How convenient! Most people I use it on can't see it when he floats behind me, and I have to sketch him for them. But you, you can see him in his full glory, his appearance in 'reality'!"

"You don't know about Stands?" Jotaro asked.

"Stands?" Rohan asked, curious. He bent over, and flipped a page on Jotaro's chest, eyes widening in absolute awe and desire. "Stands, coming from 'one who stands by me'. They were named by your friend, Mohammed Abdul. He had one named Magician's Red, and he named yours Star Platinum." He flipped a page, transfixed. "He died fighting DIO. An... immortal vampire? Who had stolen the body of your ancestor, the British gentleman Jonathan Joestar. DIO could stop time... and you can as well?! Kakyoin! Polnareff!"

He was flipping through pages madly, absorbed in the words he saw on the pages, not stopping to absorb it, simply speeding past, "Joseph Joestar! Iggy! Enemy Stand Users! Egypt, boats, planes, Magician, Hermit, Star, Hierophant, Tower, Chariot, Moon, Strength, Devil, Temperance, Emperor, Hanged Man, Empress, Wheel of Fortune, Justice, Lovers, Sun, Death, Judgement, High Priestess, Fool, Geb, Khnum, Tohth, Anubis, Bastet, Sethan, Osiris, Horus, Atum, Tenore Sax, Cream... the World." He shot through them, breathless and thrilled. He stared up at Jotaro, who was beginning to seethe in anger. Star Platinum's fist shaking, inches from Rohan's face.

"You wrote something." Jotaro accused.

"It's nothing, don't worry about it, simply ' _you cannot attack the mangaka Kishibe Rohan_ '." he said, waving it off. "But I'd never alter memories such as these! This... this work of art... this legend in the making! Just one of these bizarre adventures would be inspiration for months, but you've fought across the world, challenging monster after monster!" he praised. "I must thank you, Kujo Jotaro, for coming here today..." he flipped another page, but Jotaro reached across his chest and slammed the 'cover' shut, making the pages disappear. "Spoilsport!"

"Why did you attack me?!"

"It's easier to learn what you're here for this way. Most people, I just read what I need, then create a fake memory of them getting whatever they needed in order for them to leave, and I send them away, none the wiser." He shook his head. "But not you, I wouldn't dare harm the sanctity of such a wonderfully unique reality by placing fake memories within them!"

"If you read what you needed-"

"No! Not at all! That was just the tip of the ice berg, wasn't it?" Rohan's Stand materialized once more, and Jotaro shut his eyes, no pages appearing, no surfaces on his skin opening. "Damn. You learned the secret."

"Stop time!" everything froze, and Jotaro walked outside based on memory, resuming time once he was out of the house safely. "Time resumes. What a monstrous Stand. I'll need reinforcements, for this one." he growled. A Stand that can enforce irresistible commands on its victims, peer through their life story and secrets as easily as reading a book...

How disgusting, he thought to himself.

* * *

 _The next day._

Jolyne grinned as she held Josuke's hand, him and Okuyasu walking through town as they tended to do during Josuke's babysitting hours. Okuyasu was amused to find out that Jotaro had been paying Keicho about the same to watch her while Josuke was at school. They would try to make it a schedule; Tomoko would drop off Jolyne with Keicho when she walked to her work, the nearby elementary school. Then, when Josuke and Okuyasu walked home together, they would stop at Okuyasu's house, drop off their bags and supplies, and then take Jolyne out on the town. Around evening, they would make their way back to Okuyasu's house, Josuke would grab his stuff, and then bring Jolyne to his own house for the night.

Josuke wasn't too proud to admit that he was looking forward to it. Okuyasu especially seemed to adore the time they spent together. The boy hadn't had many friends, growing up. Keicho had been forced to become the leader of the family far too early, and Keicho, despite his recent improvements in showing a little compassion for his younger brother, was gruff, judgmental, and a perfectionist, and always had been. Keicho demanded nearly all of Okuyasu's time in just taking care of their father, and then afterwards in helping him track down potential Stand Users.

Okuyasu hadn't really had a childhood. Never before really had time to spend enjoying just being a teen, and he relished the time spent with Jolyne, who gave him back some of that childhood he missed, and with Josuke, who showed him how to be a friend, and how to live like a teenager.

Jolyne and Josuke were his first real friends.

Similarly, Jolyne wasn't exactly isolated, but her own father was constantly on the move, and constantly busy. He didn't force his responsibilities onto her, like Keicho did Okuyasu, but she felt responsible all the same. The time spent with the two boys was the first time she could really relax with other people. The closest thing she had to friends she didn't have to be serious with, or wasn't brushed aside with, were her great-grandparents Joseph and Suzie, her grandma Holy, and Polnareff.

Josuke and Okuyasu were her first real friends too.

Josuke had always been popular, attractive, tall, and generally a nice guy. But he had few close friends mainly because of Crazy Diamond. Koichi had been special in that, after witnessing Josuke's brutal rage resulting from any insult to his hair, he hadn't decided put himself at a distance. Josuke knew how to get along with people, but Okuyasu, Koichi, and Jolyne were the first that he felt he could actually trust, that he could be and remain his true self with, without being afraid they'll leave when he shows his anger.

Koichi occasionally joined up with them, when he didn't have an after-school activity or a cram class to attend, but after the craziness of the previous day, and with the stress of a new, more than slightly clingy girlfriend, he had decided to spend the day absorbed in as much of the mundane as possible.

And so, the three of them walked along the streets of Morioh. Okuyasu stopped in front of a sign, curious. "Huh, they opened up an Italian place nearby."

"Where is it?" Josuke asked, looking around. "I don't see it anywhere."

"The sign says it's a hundred meters after the next turn."

"By the cemetary? Why would anyone go practically out of town just to eat at some restaurant-" he was silenced by Jolyne grabbing his sleeve, stars in her eyes.

"Josuke." She said quietly. "We need to go there."

"What? But my Mom said she was making dinner tonight, she doesn't want us to spoil our appetite."

"It's Italian Josuke!" Jolyne complained. "I haven't had Italian food since I left America!"

"Is American Italian good?" Okuyasu asked, his stomach growling a little.

"Yeah! But not as good as Italian Italian!"

"This'll be Japanese Italian."

"That'll have to be good enough! Come on!" Jolyne said, rushing forward. Okuyasu quickly went after her, grinning back at Josuke.

"My Mom isn't making dinner for me." Okuyasu shouted back, catching up with Jolyne.

Josuke sighed, "Just great. Now she's going to yell at me."

* * *

"Trussardi?" Okuyasu asked, looking at the little building.

"I like it." Jolyne said, nodding with approval. The place had a chimney, and she imagined she could smell the cooking from here. It was slightly creepy, to eat in plain view of the graveyard, but it also created a peaceful atmosphere. "My Mom is Italian you know."

"She is? I thought she was American." Josuke said, the first to reach for the door.

"She's Italian American." Jolyne corrected, "her parents were from Italy, but she grew up in America, like great-grandpa was born in Britain, but grew up in America too."

Josuke tensed a little at the mention of his father, but Jolyne didn't notice, pushing past him and into the restaurant. Okuyasu let out an impressed whistle. "I've always liked places like this, the way Italian designs."

Josuke frowned at the two tables. "This place only serves two tables?"

"Ah, that is because I run this place all on my own." the three of them looked up to see the large European man leaving the kitchen. He had a gentle smile, and seemed pleased to see them. "I am the waiter, as well as your chef. As such, I can really only handle two tables at once."

"Are you a foreigner?" Okuyasu asked.

"Si, signore. I'm an Italian."

Josuke grinned, "Like Jolyne here."

"Oh?" the chef smiled at her, before pulling out the three seats at one of the tables. "Please, please sit down. Call me Tonio, Tonio Trussardi."

"So this place will be authentic, right Jolyne? You said that the best Italian is Italian Italian!"

"Yeah! I want ravioli!" she demanded.

"Hey, we should wait for a menu first." Okuyasu said.

"I'm sorry, but we don't have a menu." Tonio said with a smile, "I let the customer determine the meal."

"Yeah, so let me get a menu, so I can choose what I want."

"No, no, sir, I mean, I look at the customer, before deciding what to make for them." he ducked down, looking at Okuyasu's hand. "Tell me, have you been having stomach trouble?"

"S-stomach trouble?"

"And you haven't been sleeping well at all." Tonio chided gently, picking up his hand and moving it this way and that, the other two at the table were transfixed, as Tonio seemed to stare at something invisible inside Okuyasu's hand, "only four hours last night? Your eyes have bags under them. Please, let me see your other hand."

"Is... is this normal for Italian restaurants?" Josuke whispered to Jolyne, who simply shook her head no, just as surprised.

"Hmm, athlete's foot on your right foot? Two cavities, and a tense shoulder."

"Wh-How did you know all that? I guess I should just be happy you didn't say I had anything wrong with my head."

Jolyne frowned at Okuyasu. "You should take care of yourself better Okuyasu!" Tonio moved over to her, and picked up her hand, and Jolyne suddenly became very quiet.

"Hmmm, you haven't been flossing well have you? Your eyes are red, how much time do you spend reading or just watching TV? You haven't been eating as much lately as you should be, your shoulders are sunburned, and you've been eating mainly junk food. You need more calcium! More vitamins."

Jolyne blushed, embarassed. "I don't like Japanese food." she said quietly.

"Eh?" Josuke asked, shocked.

"Wait... is that why we've been running out of bread?" Okuyasu asked, turning towards her.

"And now for you." Tonio said, turning towards Josuke.

"Wait a second here, how can you tell that about them with only looking at their hands?"

"It's a gift of mine. In fact, it's part of why I became a chef. By observing one's hands, I can understand everything about their body. I have been traveling the world, in search of foods and cooking techniques that relieve people's health problems. I want to make people feel as best they can be when they eat my cooking." He smiled proudly, "I have studied Chinese medicinal history, studied under Amazonian medicine men, researched African herbs, and incorporated it all into my home country's cuisine, cuisine that has resulted in one of the longest-living, healthiest, populations on Earth." he bragged.

Jolyne looked suitably impressed. "I want ravioli." She reiterated.

Tonio smiled. "I'll see what I can do." Turning to Josuke, he held out his hand. "And you, signore?"

"I'm fine. I just want some coffee."

"Come on Josuke!" Jolyne pleaded. "I want you to try it! It's real Italian food."

"Yeah, Josuke!" Okuyasu agreed. "Me and Jolyne both had all our flaws brought out into the open-" he gave a pointed look at Tonio, the chef merely smiling wider for it, "- you should too!"

"Fine, fine. But the food better be great, got it?" He held out his hand, and Tonio took it up. The man's eyebrow shot up in surprise, and he turned it over, staring hard at it. "My, my. Physical exhaustion, stress, troubled sleeping, stiff limbs, muscle twinges, and that doesn't even begin to start with the scarring. You've had important muscles poked holes into, cut, and badly bruised! I'm surprised you can move the fingers in these hands!"

Both Okuyasu and Jolyne looked at Josuke, surprised. "I keep forgetting... you can't heal yourself in those fights. My bro did most of this, didn't he?"

"Well, the hands and a few other places..." Josuke admitted, at seeing the sadness beginning to stir in Okuyasu's face, he added, "But don't worry! I don't hold it against him, just as much is from before I ever met another Stand User. I've always been a troublemaker, you know?"

"My, my, my. Now, far be it from me to judge one's lifestyle, especially a customer, but you might want to think about a less dangerous philosophy, if you're already this torn up as simply a young man. Now, if you'll excuse me, I should get busy cooking."

"Yes!" Jolyne said triumphantly, mouth watering. He quickly returned with a pitcher of water, filling each of their glasses.

"I'll be as fast as possible, so please, be patient with me." With that, he was gone once more.

"I don't trust this guy." Josuke said, crossing his arms, "Now, I don't know about normal Italian cooking, Jolyne, but people who try to make super-healthy food stuff their food with all kinds of herbs and gross things, and it's usually disgusting. If it's not any good, we should just leave. If you really want Italian food, I'm sure we could get my Mom to find a recipe online."

"Fine." Jolyne assented. "But it'll be good! He's Italian, and this is an Italian restaurant!"

"You can't fault that logic." Okuyasu said, grinning. He took a sip of the water, before pulling away, staring at the glass in amazement.

"What's wrong?" Josuke asked. Jolyne picked up her own glass, and took a sip as well. She let out a pleased noise, and then began gulping it down. "Hey, drink slower, you'll choke!" Josuke chided.

"This water... no, this beautiful mineral water..."

"Beautiful?" Josuke asked, confused.

"It's delicious, it's just water, but it's so delicious!" Okuyasu gushed.

Josuke picked up his glass as well, but Jolyne slammed her now-empty glass down, letting out a satisfied sigh. "Yum~"

"You like it too eh?" he took a sip, and his eyes lit up, "Oh, it's good. I wonder if he'll tell us what brand this is."

"It's like a glass that a princess playing a harp in the Alps might drink! It's just, so soothing!"

"A... harp and a princess and what?" Josuke asked, honestly confused. Okuyasu began to tear up, and Josuke continued to drink his own glass, it was unbelievably refreshing, like he had been craving it for weeks, but just hadn't known it. "This is great..."

Jolyne began to tear up as well, water streaming down her cheeks, and Okuyasu quickly followed, water streaming from their eyes, more than just crying. "Are you guys okay? It's just water, it's nothing to cry over, come on Jolyne, if Jotaro knew I made you cry-" at that moment however, it passed over into something unnatural. Water seemed to pour, as if from a faucet, from their eyes. Josuke looked down to his own glass, and as much as he felt it was wrong, threw it onto the floor. There was obviously something in the water, to have the same affect on both of them. "Are you alright? Jolyne, Okuyasu?"

"It won't stop!" Okuyasu blubbered, sobbing as a tears essentially cascaded down his face. Jolyne's entire outfit, and the table cloth, was stained with the rush of tears.

"Your eyes!" Josuke shouted, beginning to panic as the whites of both Jolyne and Okuyasu's eyes began to shrivel up. He prepared to summon Crazy Diamond, when Tonio walked back in.

"Un Momento! Please, don't panic quite yet."

"You... what did you make them drink?!" Josuke accused.

"I would never make my customers food that harmed them, their eyes will return to normal in but a moment. The water is from Africa, the snow of Mount Kilimanjaro, melted into a fine mineral water. It relieves their eye injuries, and cures their insomnia. A full night's rest and relaxation has just been experienced by both of them." He pointed at the broken glass on the floor, "you could have experienced that as well, but seeing as you've obviously dropped your glass, if I give you more of it, I may mess up the correct portion. My apologies, but your refill will be only normal water."

"..." Josuke glanced at his two friends, and was relieved to see that both had stopped crying, and that their eyes had returned to normal. They seemed to almost glow with well-rested energy.

"In fact, though, it would have had less effect on you. Your eyes, after all, are perfectly fine. You haven't exhausted them, and you've had plenty of sleep." he held out the three dishes, grinning wide. "Now then, for the antipasto?"

Okuyasu and Jolyne seemed to be absolutely without suspicion. Josuke allowed himself to relax, seeing as they were fine. Tonio set down the appetizers, and proudly gave the name of each one. "For Okuyasu, mozzarella and tomato salad, with my special sauce. For Jolyne, panzanella, and for Josuke, pear slices with gorgonzola and prosciutto."

"Mozazaza?"

"Mozzarella!" Jolyne and Tonio corrected at the same time. Tonio then explained the Italian pride in tomatoes, which Jolyne heartily agreed with.

Josuke sighed, he might not take her to another Italian place after this, seeing her turning into a bit of a nationalist. He would have assumed she'd be more proud of America, considering that's where she grew up. Picking up one of the tooth picks that stabbed into his pear slices, holding the prosciutto and cheese to it, without thinking much of it, he placed it into his mouth. "Wh-WHOAH!" Josuke cried, shooting up in his chair. "This is GREAT~! It's delicious! The pear is just the right bit of sour, the cheese with just the right bit of saltiness, and the meat is practically sweet!"

Okuyasu, excited, took a bite out of a bit of his own cheese, and tried to not look disappointed, "mine... doesn't have much flavor, does it?"

"Eat it with the tomato!" Jolyne urged, and Tonio nodded, making a biting motion.

Okuyasu mimicked Josuke, sticking a few slices into his mouth at once, before shooting up, "Waaaa! Harmony! Harmony!"

Jolyne quickly took a bite into her own salad, and jumped up, "Yum!"

Tonio smiled knowingly, and then moved behind Okuyasu. "Sir, if I may reccomend you remove your jacket?"

"Ah, yeah, I suppose it is getting a bit hot!" He said, scratching at his shoulder.

Seeing it, Jolyne began to scratch at her own back, shifting awkwardly to try and get to the right spot.

Josuke resisted the urge to scratch, but his hands seemed to become puffy, and not just that, there was a strange sensation appearing in pricks and needles all over his body. "What the-"

Okuyasu began growl as he ripped dead skin from his shoulders, and Jolyne hissed as she scratched skin from her back. He resisted the urge to scratch, but he felt uncomfortably bloated, his skin seeming to rise up to meet the inside of his clothes where before it hadn't, his hands turning bright red and moist.

But it was over soon enough, to all three's immense relief. "My sunburn!" Jolyne said, surprised. "It's gone."

"Ahhh, I feel so light!" Okuyasu said, pleased, bending flexibly, "Look how far I stretch, Josuke!"

Josuke looked at his own hands in wonder, the redness was dying down, but as he felt his hands with each other, he realized how soft they became. The scar tissue that had been building up, criss-crossing his knuckles, was all gone. It was as if he had never punched away tiny bullets and missile fire at all. He stared down at his healed hands, was this how it felt for others, when he used Crazy Diamond on them?"

Tonio smiled at them, gathering the various bits of dead skin onto a plate. "I'll just dispose of this then. I'm glad you've enjoyed the antipasto."

* * *

Jotaro, Tomoko, and Keicho stood at the door, determined. "Now, remember. The moment you see his Stand, he'll be able to see your 'books'. He already wrote that I can't attack him in my own 'book', so I'll have to act as support in this one."

"Got it." Keicho said smartly, glaring at the door, holding his hand open, palm-up, a tank materialized in it.

"Oh, this is exciting!" Tomoko said. "Don't worry, I'll be sure to protect the two of you boys."

He nodded, and held a finger to his lips, before summoning Star Platinum. Time stopped, and he reached through the door with Star's hand, opening it from Rohan's side. To his surprise, it was unlocked. Opening the door, he stared at Kishibe Rohan, sitting on a chair, a picture of Heaven's Door sitting framed on his lap. This was what he was afraid of. He closed the door once more, and pushed back the 'cover' of his book. Time resumed, and the others didn't seem to notice any change in the slightest. "He's waiting for us, with a picture of Heaven's Door." He whispered. "He's probably been waiting since yesterday."

Keicho nodded, walking around the side of the house, creeping low to avoid being seen from any windows. Tomoko closed her eyes, and summoned the Wall on the other side of the door, in its second form, appearing to Rohan as if his doorway was suddenly replaced with bricks.

Jotaro opened the door, and strode through, confident. The bricks moved around him to let him pass, some of them flying off toward Rohan, or rather, towards the picture on his lap.

"Ah, so you're back. Wonderful!" Rohan said, "and you've brought Miss Higishikata with you. I'm sure she'll have some interesting experiences for me to read as well!"

"Hmph." Tomoko walked towards the man, and Rohan's Stand appeared. Once again the bricks moved around to place themselves in front of it, hiding it from both Jotaro and Tomoko. "You said that he was troublesome, Jotaro?"

"His power is. Luckily, it's sight-based, and doesn't have any offensive power." Star shot forward, and Rohan laughed smugly.

"You can't harm me, remember? I placed a safety lock on you!"

"Yeah, but stealing this-" he held up the framed sketch of Heaven's Door, "-isn't an attack." Rohan blinked, staring down in surprise as the picture was gone.

"I still have my Stand! You can't dare open your eyes, even with those bricks floating around. You might get a glimpse, and then it'd be all over, wouldn't it?" He sighed, tapping his finger against his face as he considered his options.

Tomoko was advancing towards him slowly, keeping her eyes closed as she aimed for his voice. Her Stand couldn't physically attack, in the shape it was in currently. But he couldn't dismiss her as a threat. In the brief look he had at Jotaro's memories, the mention of Tomoko had been rather sparse. She was trustworthy, her Stand could defend automatically, she cared for Jolyne well, and was quite competent, according to Jotaro. However, she had been labeled, in Jotaro's mind at least, as very much firmly 'not a threat'. Not simply because he trusted her to be on his side, but because her Stand, while troublesome to attack, could not move to defend attacks in Stopped Time. She was literally harmless to Jotaro.

Jotaro could not attack him, because of the safety lock. That was a fact. The man would never be able to physically act to harm him. But he didn't have to prevent Rohan from coming to harm. So Jotaro was hanging back, while allowing Tomoko to lead the charge. Was Tomoko a threat to Rohan, then, even if Jotaro didn't consider her a threat himself? What was he planning for her to do?"

In the time it took to consider that, less than a second had passed.

He very quietly got up, and picked up his chair. Reaching over his head, he threw it with all his might at Tomoko, but a shield of bricks from the Wall quickly formed in front of her, deflecting it entirely. But she was jolted, surprised at the direct attack.

Rohan smiled, and worked quickly, his hand blurring with speed as he stabbed at her with a pen. The blocks automatically came up to meet the pen, and he sketched Heaven's Door's face on each one.

Satisfied, he had Heaven's Door float up to Tomoko, and to punch her. His Stand had almost nothing, in terms of physical power, but it was an attack all the same.

Tomoko instinctually opened her eyes, both in response to the sound of the chair slamming against the Wall, and to the whistling in the air as the bricks shot past her face to guard against Heaven's Door's weak punch.

She glimpsed the face, drawn on the brick, and collapsed as her legs unfurled into paper. Rohan dived for her, pen at the ready, but bricks rushed to block the pen once more, not allowing him to write anything down.

Tomoko let out a pained grunt as she fell to the floor. "Dammit! He got me with it."

"Kishibe Rohan!" Jotaro growled. "Did he write anything Tomoko?"

"No, the Wall is keeping him, but my legs are paper now, I can't walk."

"Hm." Jotaro walked towards her, and to Rohan's chagrin the man simply picked Tomoko up. "Well, at least you can see without any kind of threat now. Be my eyes."

"And your fists, right?" Tomoko said, grinning down evilly at Rohan. "He's right in front of us! Just run straight forward!"

"Got it." Jotaro said, determined, as he ran forward. To Rohan's surprise, Tomoko leaned forwards and punched him in the face herself.

He had been punched before. In fact, he had paid a man to do it, as efficiently as possible. It was a learning experience! After all, how could he show his characters in pain realistically, if he had not felt that exact pain! But this punch was worse.

As his nose crunched, he thought back to that experiment, and realized that his reasoning had been flawed. He had been punched before, but never with such malice behind it! Never in a 'real' fight. The force, the experience, the wildness behind the punch, was completely different to his experience before.

He grinned, as he slammed into the floor, and pulled out a memo pad, quickly putting down his reactions to the experience.

"Keep going! He's on the floor, so pick him up first! It's not attacking if you're just holding him up in place for me, right?" Tomoko savagely urged. Star appeared, and in a flash, had managed to grab onto Rohan's shoulders, lifting him up into the air.

"Amazing! Show me your passion!" Rohan commanded, writing furiously. He continued to write as she belted him in the face four more times, blood pouring from his face. "Excellent, the next time one of my characters is punched in the face, it'll be much more realistic!" She reared back to throw another punch at him, when Heaven's Door flung forward, throwing weak punches. The bricks of the Wall moved to block each one all the same. Unfortunately, the placement of those bricks were in the way of the duo attacking Rohan. Jotaro, his eyes still kept shut, couldn't react in time, and tripped over the bricks suspended in the air, toppling over and taking Tomoko to the ground with him. Rohan stalked away, wiping at his face with a napkin. "I must really thank you, it was an enlightening sensation. But I'm afraid I must remain conscious for now, if I'm to learn as much as possible." He walked into his kitchen, and casually washed his face as he listened to Tomoko and Jotaro argue and get untangled from each other, the Wall, acting automatically to defend Tomoko, continually inserting themselves to keep Jotaro from injuring Tomoko in the slightest, and getting in the way.

"Ugh! Just get off of me." Tomoko said, trying to wiggle away, a process hampered by her lack of functioning legs.

"I'm trying, just call back the Wall!"

"He'll be waiting for that!" Tomoko said, watching the kitchen door.

"Where is he?"

"He left the room."

"Place it in the doorway of whatever room he just went in." Jotaro ordered. Trusting him, Tomoko dematerialized the Wall, the bricks holding Jotaro away from her vanishing, and re-materialized it in the doorway to the kitchen.

"Is Heaven's Door in sight anywhere?"

"No-" Jotaro's eyes snapped open, and he jumped to his feet. Star grabbed Tomoko, and lifted her onto his back, "oh! You should have warned me."

"No time. Which room?" he looked to the Wall guarding the doorway to Rohan's kitchen, and smirked. "Alright. Let's get this bastard."

* * *

Rohan sighed, looking over his kitchen. What options did he have at the moment? Tomoko and Jotaro were in his entryway, and blocked off the easy access to it, by placing the Wall between it and the kitchen. The kitchen had another door, leading in a roundabout way around the edge of the house, through three more rooms, back to the entryway. But he remembered that one of Star's abilities were excellent senses. If Jotaro concentrated on Star Platinum's ears, would he be able to expect him before he got to the entryway's other doorway?

The answer came soon enough, as he heard heavy foot steps. Jotaro was heading through the same route that Rohan was planning, crossing into the living room on the left of the entryway just as the kitchen was the right of the entryway. He would be trapped between the Wall, and Jotaro carrying Tomoko, unable to leave the kitchen.

He had only one option available to him then. He wanted inspiration, but he wasn't willing to die for it-

Rohan froze in place, suddenly confused. "I surrender." He loudly declared. Jotaro wouldn't harm an opponent with no will to fight, would he?

He waited patiently for Jotaro to appear in the kitchen's opposite doorway, and soon enough, the man was there, an annoyed Tomoko on his back, holding herself in place with both arms around Jotaro's shoulders. "You surrender?" She asked, confused.

"Well, that depends of course. The only reason I attacked you was because I wanted information for my manga. I don't exactly understand why we have to fight. I don't wish to kill you, or even harm you! All I want is your 'reality', your 'experiences'!"

"The secrets I know..." Jotaro said harshly, "...It'd be dangerous for you to read them. I can't allow you to read my memories. Your power is too dangerous, able to conquer the will and impose laws on others... you're too dangerous to be left free."

"Then why not give me the same deal as Tamami!" Jotaro growled, knowing that Rohan could have only learned about him from Jotaro's memories, "I won't make problems for you, and you don't make problems for me. I only wish to create interesting stories, mister Kujo, miss Higishikata." He laughed, "I'm hardly a super villain."

"If a man like Dio had your power, he would have conquered the world."

"But he didn't have my power. He had yours." Jotaro felt a twinge of dread. It had always bothered him, that the World and Star Platinum were nearly identical. If Stands represent their Users's true self, what did it say about him that he was Dio's twin?

Tomoko swatted Jotaro on the head. "Don't get distracted by him. Put my legs back, got it?" She shouted.

Rohan shrugged, and the next moment the paper that made up Tomoko's legs furled back into place, becoming flesh once more. "Done, can you see now that I'm being genuine? I know I can't beat you."

"...There's only one way to know for sure." Jotaro said, determined. "Use Heaven's Door on yourself!" He ordered. "Write 'I will not harm other people'!"

"No." Rohan refused. "What if I am under attack? I am allowed to defend myself, am I not?" he grinned. "Especially in such a dangerous town. How about I write, 'I cannot injure any member of the Joestar bloodline'?"

"Or their friends." Tomoko added.

"But how am I to know who are your friends or not?" Rohan demanded. "You cannot be asking me to stop using Heaven's Door on anyone!"

"I am asking that."

"Well, I must refuse."

"You already surrendered!" Jotaro growled. "You're in no place to be making demands at all." his eyes still held stubbornly closed.

"Hmmm." Rohan seemed to think it over for quite some time. "How about I use Heaven's Door on you just one more time, and I read, straight from your memories, all the people whom I must never attack?"

"No deal." Jotaro growled.

"What if I read it from Tomoko?" Rohan pleaded, "please, Jotaro, just be reasonable. You cannot deny me any use of my Stand, when all I am using it for is to create art! Finding credit card numbers, digging up blackmail, forcing people to commit crimes for me, I've done none of those things! Heaven's Door is for gathering information! Heaven's Door is to help me attain 'reality' in literary form!"

"...Tomoko?"

"Well, fine. I don't have any world-shattering secrets to keep. But any funny business, and I'm going to smash your face in."

"Fair enough." Rohan said. Tomoko hesitantly stepped forwards, and presented her hand to Rohan. "Heaven's Door!" Both her own hand, and his arm, split open, revealing pages. Rohan picked up his pen, and held it over his own arm. "Now, watch carefully." He said. "I won't have you saying I cheated you! I, Kishibe Rohan," he wrote the letters into his arm as he spoke them, "will not injure any member of the Joestar bloodline, nor any I know to be their friends! Friends whom I know, from what I am reading-" he carefully spun the pen, keeping the ink-tipped end away from her hand, and showing her as such, as he used his finger to lift a page on Tomoko's hand to continue reading. "-on Tomoko's hand. Among these friends are the Nijimuras, Hirose Koichi, Yukako Yamagishi, and any students going to Morioh Elementary!"

Jotaro grinned a little at the last addition.

"Will that suffice, Jotaro?" he asked.

"Is that what he wrote, Tomoko?"

"What I said is exactly what I wrote down." Rohan said clearly. "Tomoko has no reason to fear me."

She looked down at his arm, and read what was written there. "Yes, it's what he wrote down."

"Good." Jotaro opened his eyes with a sigh of relief. Suddenly, Heaven's Door flung itself in his face, and all four of his limbs turned to paper, spiraling away from him, Star appeared, fist at the ready, but was unable to attack. "What the-"

Rohan grinned, grabbing Tomoko's hand and showing the open page to him. In smudged characters, written with the bit of ink left on his finger tip, was written ' _BELIEVE ROHAN'_.

He then proudly showed his own arm, which on it was written ' _I Kishibe Rohan will not injure any member of the Joestar bloodline, nor any I know to be their friends. Friends whom I know, from what I am reading on Tomoko's hand. UNLESS I FEEL LIKE IT._ '

"You bastard!" Jotaro growled.

"Now, now, don't be like that." He grabbed the end of Jotaro's arm, reading the page with serious interest. "I'm just gathering information for my manga, after all." He pulled out his pen, and with some distaste, wrote _'forget Kishibe Rohan as a threat_ '. Jotaro slumped to the ground, suddenly calm.

"Yare Yare Daze." He grunted. "How much longer will this take?"

"Oh, I could spend hours reading this!" Rohan said joyously.

"I have other things to do today, Rohan." Jotaro said, trying to get up, but with his limbs being made up of scrolls of paper, the act was unsuccessful.

"That's true." Said a member of Bad Company. Rohan froze in place, feeling a chill go up his back. Suddenly, on the outside of every window in the kitchen, soldiers lifted their heads, weapons aimed at Rohan through the glass.

"Oh dear." He said. None of the soldiers were being taken out by seeing Heaven's Door. A tiny strip of paper, like the slip inside a fortune cookie, was all that came off of them. And written on every single one, was simply the words ' _obey User_ '. The individual soldiers had no memories, no experiences. Keicho could speak through them, and commanded them with his thoughts, but the soldiers themselves had nothing Rohan could use. There wasn't even enough space on the paper to write more than a few more characters. "I didn't think you would be here." Rohan said, hesitantly holding his hands in the air. "I surrender, truly, this time."

"Oh yeah?" Keicho's voice rang out from an entirely different soldier than before. "Then complete the message. For real, this time."

Rohan bit his lip, staring down at his arm, and the hand holding the pen began to shake. "Don't you have any sympathy?! This man in front of me, he's the fountain of youth! He's El Dorado! He's a priceless artifact, that I've discovered! You can't take that from me! With his experiences, I can make the greatest manga on Earth!" He grabbed the paper of Jotaro's arm, rushing through it, reading as quickly as he could, trying to grab as much information as possible.

"I don't care." Keicho said. "Honestly, I liked Pink Dark Boy better when you were just starting out. You made it way too complicated, bringing in a hundred and one things you just found interesting, and tying them together in the most bizarre situations..."

" _ **How dare you!?**_ " Rohan seethed.

"Now then. I will open fire, unless you immediately undo whatever you've done to Tomoko and Jotaro. If possible, I want you to counteract any commands you've put on them."

"I can't erase what I've written down." Rohan said, as an excuse.

"But you can edit it, can't you?" One of the soldiers fired through the window, rushing inside, and climbing up Rohan. "You wrote on your own arm, ' _unless I feel like it_ ', didn't you? Add to Tomoko's 'believe Rohan' the words ' _only if I genuinely believe him_ '."

Grinding his teeth, he wrote down the words, and Tomoko suddenly realized where she was. "You liar!" She growled, slamming him in the face with her fist, before grabbing his hair and dragging him toward a counter.

"Wait, Tomoko!" Keicho's soldier pleaded. "Let him fix Jotaro!"

"Fine." Tomoko dropped Rohan, who limped over to where Jotaro was.

"Can... I just run some of this through my photocopier? To read later?"

"No." Tomoko growled out.

"Fine!" He grabbed the part of the paper that contained ' _forget Kishibe Rohan as a threat_ '. "What should I write?"

"Just add a 'don't' in front of it." Keicho ordered.

"I'm done." Rohan said, saddened. With another flash of Heaven's Door, paper returned to flesh, and Jotaro got up, enraged.

"Remove the safety lock!"

"Fine!" Rohan grumbled. With a flash, Jotaro's chest opened, and Rohan flipped to the right page, Bad Company soldiers watching his every move. He wrote, after ' _You cannot attack the mangaka Kishibe Rohan_ ' the words ' _unless it is necessary_ '. "Is that okay? Are we done here? Because if you don't mind, I'm bursting with inspiration! I think I could make an entire chapter in today alone! No, three, no! There's no limit to what I can do with this information, I'm going to start an entirely new story arc, today!"

"What about what you wrote on yourself?" Keicho asked.

"I know when I'm beaten." He growled. "I wouldn't be challenging you again any time soon either way. I need to work on my manga!"

Jotaro let out an angry sigh, and Star Platinum punched Rohan through the wall, destroying the wall in the process and leaving the mangaka unconscious and bleeding. "We're done here. Either he decides to be a nuisance again, or he doesn't. We at least know he isn't working with Red Hot Chili Peppers."

Tomoko let out a sigh of relief. "So, that was a fight with a Stand User... That was something else."

Jotaro managed a small smile, "you impressed me with that. You can throw a strong punch."

"My father raised a punk daughter, who raised a punk son." Tomoko said proudly.

Keicho joined them as they walked back to their car. "I'm glad that the plan worked out."

* * *

Josuke stared in horror as Jolyne turned bright orange and was beginning to melt, and Okuyasu was exploding into a fountain of blood, screaming about his guts.

Then, moments later, they were fine. It was a terrifying pattern, addictive cooking, a gruesome effect, and then sudden relief. Josuke looked down at his own main course, the entire cooking process undone by Crazy Diamond, to reveal strange, pepper-looking creatures. They shot back to the kitchen, where Tonio stopped him at the door. "Did you enjoy your meals, Signore?"

"You're a Stand User!" Josuke accused.

"A... what?"

"Those floating things! That you made us eat, that have been messing up our bodies the entire time we've been in your restaurant!"

"Josuke, calm down, he hasn't hurt us or anything!" Okuyasu pleaded. "The only thing he's done is make some amazing food and healing some junk we had wrong with us!"

"I'm going to eat here every day!" Jolyne declared, stuffing the last of her ravioli in her mouth, seemingly unworried how the last few bites had made her change color.

"Wait, you can see 'Pearl Jam'?" Tonio asked, surprised.

"Is that what it's called?" Crazy Diamond appeared over Josuke's shoulder, and taking his cue, Jolyne and Okuyasu brought out their own Stands as well. Tonio seemed flabbergasted, staring at them.

"Wh-What are those things?!"

"These are Stands. It's like what you put in the food... now what did you do to us?!"

"Nothing! I swear." Tonio said, determined. "All they do is go into my cooking, and they amplify the health benefits in the food. My salad really did cure Okuyasu's stiff shoulders. It's simply that what should have taken an entire dietary change, and weeks, could be made to happen in seconds!"

"So... you really just heal people with good food?" Josuke asked, surprised.

"Yes."

"Huh."

Jolyne cleared her plate, and looked to Josuke and Tonio. "Josuke's Stand can heal people too."

"It can?" Tonio asked, intrigued. "Without cooking?"

Josuke nodded, beginning to blush a bit, embarrassed over the accusations. "Do you still have that broken glass from earlier?"

* * *

Josuke and Jolyne walked into the house, surprised to find Tomoko lying on the couch. "Mom, are you okay?"

"Me, Keicho, and Jotaro went to Kishibe Rohan's house today. No one got seriously hurt, but it was my first battle with a Stand User. He could control minds by writing things on you." she sank further into the cushions, "I'm sorry, but I just want to rest for a while. It was pretty draining."

"Whoah! How did you beat him?" Jolyne asked, excited.

"Ask me later, okay sweetie?" Tomoko said. "Um, Josuke? I know I promised to make you two a big dinner tonight, as celebration for you finding Yukako yesterday, but would it be alright if we did that tomorrow? Maybe you and Jolyne could go to a restaurant."

"We al-" Josuke covered Jolyne's mouth, and smiled at his mom. "That sounds like a great idea, Mom. Don't worry about a thing."

"Thanks, you two."

As Josuke led Jolyne back outside, he let out a sigh of relief. "Saved~"

"But I want to find out what happened!"

"We'll hear it from Keicho or your Dad later, for now, let's find something to eat that won't make us explode."

"Okay. Should we tell Dad about Tonio?"

"Probably." Josuke smiled, looking down at his hands again. He had deflected missiles with that hand, not too long ago. Taken tiny gunfire with it. He had almost gotten used to the new scars, and now they were simply gone. Stand fights were dangerous. And with him around, his friends wouldn't have to keep their injuries, but he always went in knowing he would come out with more scars.

Knowing that there was someone in town that could heal him, it made him feel safer.

* * *

Rohan groaned, sitting in his hospital bed. He had demanded art supplies be brought to him, but the doctors wanted him to relax.

He was burning up inside, so many ideas he needed to put onto paper! Jotaro had been the greatest find of his career. A few weeks in the hospital, compared to that? It was nothing.

Night had come, and he was having trouble sleeping. Determined to simply sit in the bed and wait to recover, he was mildly surprised as a nurse opened the door. "Two visitors for you, Mister Kishibe." she said sweetly.

"At one AM?" Rohan said sourly. "If it's the police, I'm sticking with what I said earlier. I don't give a damn. I'm not interested in getting anyone arrested."

"No, mister Kishibe. It's actually two very important people. You see, they're fans of yours, and they're here with a proposition."

"Oh? And why would the hospital let people come in and see me at one AM just because they're my fans?" He quickly sketched Heaven's Door in the air, but to his surprise it had no affect on the woman.

"So you've brought out your Stand for a mere friendly nurse? My, you're a shrewd one. But I'd expect nothing less from the great mangaka, Rohan-sensei!"

"Who are you?" He demanded. The nurse walked forwards, and place her hand on his, and before Rohan's eyes, she quickly transformed into him. The mannerisms, body language, and expression changing to something that Rohan would see in the mirror.

"Why, my name is Surface. Although I currently have the honor of being a copy of that mangaka Kishibe Rohan! You know the copy robot from Perman, right? Of course you do, you're a mangaka. I'm like that. I'm the Stand of a young man named Hazamada, another Stand User, and an avid fan of yours. If you'd just remove Heaven's Door from view, I think you'd like to meet him and a friend of his."

"A fan, hm? Perhaps we'll be compatible. And a fellow Stand User." he grinned. "Stand Users are always leaders of interesting lives, from what I've seen. Come in." Heaven's Door disappeared, and Hazamada and Akira walked in.

Hazamda grinned widely, pulling out an autograph paper and a pen. "If you don't mind, Rohan-Sensei?"

"Of course not!" His hand flashed out and his autograph was proudly displayed on the paper. "So, how did the two of you come to find me?"

"We're Stand Users, who like you, were shot by Nijimura Keicho." Akira answered. "We've decided to embrace our Stands, and live free of the trappings of normal society!" He strummed his guitar. "I'm going to become a rocker myself, and live hard and wild! Now that I have my Stand, Red Hot Chili Peppers-"

Rohan's eyes flashed with recognition, and Akira fell as his legs and arms became paper, Heaven's Door materializing in front of him. His Stand grabbed the end of the paper of Akira's leg, pulling it up to Rohan's bed. Using the pen provided by Hazamada, he quickly wrote in a command-

and stared, confused, at what he had written. _Otoishi Akira will from now on be immune to the affect of Heaven's Door._ Rohan tried to scratch it out, to attempt writing a new command, but his arm couldn't move. His eyes shifted to Surface, who was holding his hand in the same position's as Rohan's. "I'm afraid, Rohan-Sensei, that I was the one who wrote that down." Surface admitted.

"You controlled my hand?" He asked, interested. "Are you a Stand User Jotaro was unaware of?"

"I never met the guy." Hazamada said. "It depends on how much Okuyasu and Josuke told him about my abilities."

"Sensational. So this is what it feels like to lose control of your own body." he said, pleased. "I apologize for trying to put a Safety Lock on you, mister Otoishi." he said, Heaven's Door disappearing and the paper returning to flesh. "But Jotaro's memories contained a frightening description of you, and I just wanted to be sure I could trust you."

Akira rubbed his legs, surprised. "It's good you stopped when you did, or my Stand would have taken your head off." as confirmation of the threat, Red Hot Chili Peppers rose from the lamp nearby Rohan's bed. "You see, it's Jotaro and his friends that are the problem." He glanced at Hazamada, before looking back at Rohan in earnest. "Want to get revenge on those guys?" he asked, smiling evilly, "Join us in living without fear of society's rules and limitations."

"No thank you." Rohan said. "I have little interest in existing outside of society, no one would read my manga if it didn't go through normal channels. I want my work to be recognized. The same might go for you as well... a criminal, and anarchist, booking lucrative locations for his concerts? I don't see it happening."

"Wh-" Akira growled, "What do you know!? People will come in droves to hear me play! And with Red Hot Chili Peppers at my side, I can destroy anyone who tries to stop me from performing!"

"Well, either way. Thank you for the offer, but I'll be staying neutral in this conflict. I've already had it beaten into me that I have no hope in defeating the Joestars and their allies, and honestly, I don't care about beating them. If doing so could get me a few hours reading through Jotaro's memories, then perhaps it'd be worth it, but I'm willing to be satisfied with what I already have. My manga will improve by leaps and bounds with the limited looks I've gotten already!"

Akira and Hazamada shared a look. "He doesn't want to join us..." Hazamada said helplessly.

"Well... who says he has a choice?" Red Hot Chili Peppers reached down and gripped Rohan's wrist tightly. "How about it? Can you draw without your dominant hand?"

"Y-You wouldn't..." Rohan said, glaring at him.

"Th-Think about what you're doing, Akira! No more Pink Dark Boy!" Hazamada mourned. "Can you really accept that!? Pink was just about to find out what happened to his grandfather!"

Rohan nodded fervently. "You would destroy my magnum opus, right after I find the inspiration to bring to new levels?!"

Akira stared between the two of them, dumbfounded. "You two... are more worried about the manga not getting finished, than him getting maimed?"

"Of course!" Both shouted.

Akira sighed. "Look, Rohan, we need your power if we're going to be able to fight the Joestars! I gave them the chance to run, and they've chose to escalate the conflict. We need more Stand Users. We need you." RHCP squeezed the wrist. "And I'm not taking no for an answer. Summon Heaven's Door, and use it on yourself. Now."

"..." Rohan looked at his hand. He had practiced with his non-dominant hand. But he was nowhere near confident enough in it. How could he portray the beautiful reality Jotaro's memories had shown him without it? "Fine." his arm flipped open, revealing Rohan's own 'book'.

Surface forced Rohan's other hand to pick up the pen once more, and lifted it over to Rohan's arm. It lowered down, and in Rohan's own handwriting, the words _I cannot disobey Otoishi Akira_ were written.

Akira and his Stand both grinned savagely, and RHCP grabbed Hazamada and Surface, before all three disappeared into light. In a moment, Red Hot Chili Peppers had returned, and placed a hand on Rohan's shoulder. "Welcome to my side, Kishibe Rohan."


End file.
